Christmas Calibration
by avrjoe
Summary: The first Calibration since the fall of Creation's Age of Sorrows that led to the formation of the World of Darkness begins. Exalted and Supernatural alike will have their lives disrupted.
1. Chapter 1

A big thank you to everyone who has read these stories and a bigger one to everyone who has commented upon them. This will be my largest story yet likely twenty five chapters minimum. It will have the most characters. Some threads are charted into the future some are not. Your comments and private messages can help determine which characters will get the spotlight in future stories.

From an RPG setting perspective, this is the end of the 'backstory' and beginning of the adventures where all the characters come together into more traditional parties, circles, etc. From here, they start making solid plans to influence the world. It's a big world, however, and there are over a thousand Celestial Exalted, one hundred thousand Dragon Blooded, and all the other supernatural beings of both settings. Plenty of room for other adventures.

As a reminder the base of the setting is _Exalted_ and the _World of Darkness_ which are both property of White Wolf Games. All _Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines_ characters were created by Troika Games, if you've never played it, check it out.

* * *

Kimura Home

Inglewood, California

December 20th, 2012

10:07 AM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Kashi Kimura sat on the sofa in his mother's living room. He wore a sleeveless white t-shirt, his cowrie shell necklace and a pair of pale blue athletic shorts with the UCLA Bruins logo emblazoned in gold on the right leg. He was snarfing down his third bowl of cereal while his mother flitted about their apartment trying to get ready. Kashi, who seemed supremely unconcerned about his mother's frenetic pace, had committed himself to enjoying his time off from school. UCLA's Fall Quarter had ended on the fourteenth and he had relished the respite after a hectic week of cramming for finals.

Banyan looked over and barked at her son. "Kashi! Why are you still not ready? Your sister's program begins in less than an hour!" She was wearing an elegant pant suit she had purchased for her new position as hotel manager. Kashi had quipped she looked like Hillary Clinton.

Kashi put the oversized bowl of cereal to his lips and greedily drained it of milk. Setting the bowl on the living room next to a depleted box of Pop-Tarts, he then pounded his muscular chest with his fist and belched loudly. "Probably 'cause I'm not going."

"Kashi! Your sister is one of the leads in the school's Christmas program. You. Are. Going. March yourself back upstairs and put your suit on," Banyan commanded.

"I'm not wearing a suit, I'm not getting ready and I'm not going to go back to high school to watch a stupid program I don't care about. I never even went to the drama geek stuff when I _went_ to that school." This was a partial lie. Kashi had attended many such events. He just never remembered as he was hungrily 'trolling for pussy' as he would have described it in his own crude vernacular.

"Willow attended your graduation and she wasn't enrolled there, we both went to your games." Banyan said while looking for her purse.

"Willow never went to any of my games because she wanted to, she only went when you made her because she was too young to stay home alone," Kashi said.

"So, your argument is she only went because I made her. That's fair. Now I'm making _you_ go." Banyan said with a triumphant smirk.

"No...that's...that's not what I'm saying!"

"Kashi, I took time off from the hotel to support for your sister. I did this even though I have work to do as the new manager. You've been working with her for three weeks to build up her stamina so she could make it through this program. Do you really want to sit at home and do nothing but eat? Do you want to destroy all the progress you've made in that time in your relationship with your sister?"

"I wasn't going to just eat. I'm going to to gym after this and then I have to get ready for my date with Sayuri," he protested feebly.

Banyan glared at her son and folded her arms in front of her chest.

"I am _not_ wearing a suit or a tie."

"Well, you're not wearing jeans."

"Fine! Slacks and a button up, but that's as far as I'm willing to go," he countered.

"Buttoned up?"

"Well not all the way!"

"All but the top one, Kashi! You're not in a cologne ad! Hurry up, will you? Nana's riding with us, so you'll have to sit in the back," Banyan said.

Kashi sighed and stomped upstairs to get ready.

* * *

Virtual Adept Safe House

Inglewood, California

December 20th, 2012

10:15 AM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Brad sniffed and a disgusted sneer crossed his face. He looked around and, seeing the sleeping form of Jesse, he knew immediately who had to be responsible for the foul smell in the air.

"Greg, I swear to God if you are cooking Brussels sprouts again, I will kick your ass."

"You know, your mood would improve if you had a more balanced diet," Greg shot back smugly from the apartment's tiny kitchen.

"If guzzling spoiled tea, eating rotten cabbage and pickling everything you can think of is your idea of 'balance' you can shove it up your ass, pal. Your food stinks, your pomade stinks, and your fashion sense stinks," Brad said angrily.

Kombucha and kimchi are good for you, and there's nothing wrong with pickling things. It's better that your food have a vingery bite instead of the artificial sweetness of the mass produced, Americanized crap that you shovel down."

Jesse's leg suddenly moved. His boot met the back of Brad's rolling chair, shoving him into the doorway into the kitchen where Greg was standing. Both men fell into a pile.

"How about you both shut it? The girl is going to ascend at midnight on New Year's Day. We got less than two weeks to put up with each other," Jesse said, his cowboy hat still covering his eyes.

Brad was the first to untangle himself and regain his feet. He turned to the sleeping cowboy and tilted his head to the side. "I've had a feeling gnawing at me in the pit of my stomach. Something's off. There are too many variables that have changed from our initial calculations. I mean the brother alone-"

"You know what hasn't changed? That she's the granddaughter of the most powerful will worker still left on Earth," Jesse snarled, interrupting as he sat up and adjusted his cowboy hat into place leveling a death stare at the other two.

"I thought that was Koschei the Deathless," Greg said finally regaining his own feet. He was looking down dusting off his hands and so missed the glare leveled at him by the elder mage.

Jesse eyed the younger man darkly. "Shut up, Greg. Look, we have one chance at this. An Awakening taking place more than once in a single family is extremely rare. I think the record is four over the course of a millenium So, the old man isn't going to be looking for her. That's our advantage. But, he keeps loose tabs on his descendants, so her Awakening won't stay secret long. With that in mind, we have the best plan laid out. As soon as she Awakens, we snatch the girl and upload a copy of her mind into the clone in the basement and put it back in her place. In six months to a year, the dupe dies of a brain aneurysm; quick, painless, and unexpected. Everyone grieves then goes about their lives none the wiser, and we can finally get away from each other."

"Actually, the record is six. The Hermetic D'Angelo bloodline: 1995, 1490, 1230, 514, 95, AD and 320 BC," Greg added.

Jesse and Brad both turned and silently glared at him. This time he didn't miss it and found the decency to balk a little.

Jesse internally counted to ten and then spoke. "Alright, I'm going to mark us down for taking some relief time today. We've been doing nothing but keeping watch on this girl, crunching numbers, and sleeping for weeks. Greg, from the smell, you burned your sprouts. Clean up the mess in the kitchen, take some funds from the cash drawer, we have plenty left. Go out, get something to eat and see a movie or something. Brad when he's back you can go out. I'll be the last one out when you get back."

Greg nodded. "Yeah, okay."

Brad gave a quiet nod and turned back to his computer screen. He logged into Spark's mainframe on the side and set it to crunching more numbers for him. He could not shake the feeling that _something_ was off. While he was at it, he scrolled through the other projects in Spark's lab to see which ones might be helpful in a pinch. Despite what Jesse said, he had a sinking feeling something was going to go badly wrong.

* * *

Rome, Italy

Vatican City

Papal Synod Hall

7:30 PM Central European Time

10:30 AM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Katerina tried to stifle her pride. In this most holy of places, she knew pride was a sin, but she could not help herself. Only a lifetime of practice projecting an outward aura of calm afforded her any success this day. The work of her lifetime was about to be fulfilled. In this very hall she had gathered representatives of the luminaries of Europe's elite.

Representatives of the twelve surviving ruling monarchies of Europe as well as representatives from twenty-one other formerly recognized royal families were in attendance. They had come to put the final touches on something Katerina had struggled to build.

Absolute monarchy in Europe had been all but destroyed in the inferno of the first World War; replaced with republics or a watered down 'constitutional' cousin of a pure monarchy. While a few, such as the Prince of Liechtenstein, still held power in their respective countries, the majority of the remaining noble families held no such power. So, instead of ruling, the remaining royals and nobles of these great houses had spent most of the twentieth century instead serving as cultural icons. They stood as reminders of what it was to be German, English, or Spanish.

Katerina was a proud Spaniard, but more than that she was a proud European. She was proud of its ancient history and its sophistication. She was proud of her own family. As such, she worked to form a Pan-European body that would legally rule on the status and affirm the titles of the remaining royals as well as the noble bloodlines of Europe. This would add both a level of increased respectability and a standard of behavior based on shared European values. Defunct titles would even be restored as strictly honorary and ceremonial holdings so long as the holder held to the high standard Katerina aimed to set for such people. She saw it as a way to preserve European history and culture.

No one had taken her idea seriously until her husband at the time, Frederick von Rayner, had gained her the ear of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. He had, at the time, stated her goal was a mere dream.

Over the years, she'd kept up the occasional correspondence with the Cardinal, even when he was elevated to become Pope Benedict. As a Cardinal, Ratzinger originally thought Katerina's idea impractical. In his opinion, it was a Herculean task that would require at least four generations of work. However, after his election as Pontiff, the new Pope had written to Katerina again, this time to support her idea.

This last year, with the power and skills of her Exaltation at her disposal, she had cut through knot after knot of red tape, bureaucracy, selfishness and fear of such a body interfering in local politics. Particularly impressive in the eyes of most legal analysts, she had used the French court's denial that their government had jurisdiction over disputes on the usage of noble coats of arms to nullify their arguments against the organization's formation.

The group became silent as the last few dignitaries scribbled their signatures on the ceremonial, over-large document. The Holy Father then rose and added his name as the first witness, followed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the leaders of various national protestant churches, Eastern Orthodox Patriarchs and seven Cardinals of the Catholic Church.

The assembled delegates looked over the document. The titles and honors it would accord would be almost entirely symbolic. However, Katerina always felt people underestimated the power of symbolism.

After a few words in closing from Katerina and a prayer from his Holiness, the assembled nobles and representatives broke into groups who congratulated each other occasionally mingling as friends or colleagues found each other among the crowds. Quiet and restrained, the mingling among dignitaries continued for some time. However, despite her accomplishment, Katerina was exhausted. She needed a quick moment to herself. She found an excuse to exit from the well wishers and collect her thoughts.

Katerina detested the Papal Audience Hall. It was a modern monstrosity that stuck out against the Renaissance and Baroque grandeur of St. Peter's Basilica. As such, she sought to escape briefly to the annex that connected the audience hall and the Palace of the Holy Office, a building that was much more in line with what one thought of when one imagined Vatican City.

Her respite in the annex came to an end when she noticed a man standing nearby, quietly watching her. He had a sad, almost sympathetic look on his face. He nodded his head and moved his eyes to indicate something was behind her.

Carefully turning, Katerina saw an official looking man with a briefcase.

"Excuse me. Are you Lady Katerina of the House of Bourbon? The Duchess of Cadiz? Formerly Lady Katerina von Rayner, he asked.

"Yes, I am. The celebration is back that way, sir. I will be returning shortly. Perhaps I might speak with you later when I return to it."

"Excuse me, Duchess, but this is a more private matter. You see, I represent the Association for the Preservation of Bavarian History and Cultural Artifacts or VEGA as it is also called."

"The _Verein zur Erhaltung Bayerischer Geschichte und Kultureller Artefakte_? I would not be especially proud of that. When I reported the theft of some of my husband's artifacts, relics of the Rayner family, your organization was very unhelpful."

"We had a conflict of interests in that matter. While we are saddened to see any historic artifacts stolen we also had received some large endowments from some distant branches of the Rayner family who had come into wealth. They were financing some very important digs and research. It was a matter we felt best left to the proper law enforcement agencies in light of the possible criminal involvement."

"I see. We both know from whom that money came, and it does not endear you to me."

"Well, perhaps what I have to tell you will change your mind. You see, those very efforts have revealed a shocking turn of events. A turn of events that affects your children, in particular your son."

"Christian? What does this have to do with him?"

"In 1747 Bavarian Elector Maximilian III married Maria Anna Sophia, the daughter of Augustus III, King of Poland who was also elector of Saxony and Grand Duke of Lithuania. They were married for thirty years until Maximilian died of a strangely virulent form of smallpox leaving no issue or heir."

Katerina put her hand to her chin. This was an obscure bit of European history, even for one who made such a thing her passion, but there was a dim flicker of recognition in her mind. "Yes, I think I remember her. After his death, she tried to negotiate with Prussia to maintain Bavarian independence from Austria. It was unusual for a woman of that time to attempt such a feat given the agnatic primogeniture succession laws. But her family ties gave her much weight in the discussions and she negotiated nobly though it ultimately failed and the War of Bavarian Succession began."

"Yes. She had thirteen known siblings but no children of her own, yet, despite having no issue, there was no attempt by Maximilian to put her aside or marry another. Or so we thought."

"Or so you thought?" Katerina asked.

"We have come into documents that show otherwise. Using them, we have gained access to records here in the Vatican that show that in 1748, the Church was given documents by doctors of the time certifying that the Electress was infertile and would never be able to produce issue which lead to the annulment of the marriage. However, the annulment was kept secret as was the following marriage of the Elector to his wife's younger sister, Princess Maria Margaretha, who was one year younger but had never married due to a disfiguring incident when she was six years of age."

"Disfigurement? The common people would have seen that as a sign that she was cursed. I assume they planned to use that poor girl as a broodmare and pass her child off as her elder sister's natural born heir?"

"Attempt? They nearly succeeded. The girl did have children; four to be exact: two girls and two boys. One of the girls died of illness and the other of an accident. Maria's eldest son was sickly and remained a secret. He lived and was three years of age when his father died.

"I see," Katerina said, despite herself, she was being drawn into the narrative.

"He never got the chance to succeeded his father. The elder boy was assassinated by those who did not wish to see his ascension and wanted his father's kingdom for their own. The last surviving son, an infant, was given to a priest to be hidden from further assassination attempts along with several letters to his mother's relations who knew of the child's existence. Princess Maria Anna Sophia attempted to bring her "son" to the throne safely, however, the plan fell apart due to the War of the Bavarian Succession that Maximilian's death triggered. The scheme was shelved. Another branch of the Wittelsbach line took the throne and life in Bavaria continued on. Few noticed that in the shake up of the war, a new barony had been created for a family that seemed to appear as if from nowhere with a now four year old Baron: the von Rayner family."

"These findings are confirmed?"

"They are irrefutable. The best experts and historians have looked at the documents and checked them against each other. As such, your son is the heir of a long branch of the Bavarian Royal House with ties to the Kings of Poland, Austria, Prussia, Saxony, Lithuania, and Bohemia."

"I thank you for this news. It will take me some time to sort out what it all means. The implications are far reaching but ultimately not pressing."

"Oh, but they are, my lady. You see starting in 1850 with the formation of the Rayner Trust and Holding Company by Augustin Claus-Werner von Rayner, the Rayner holdings have continually grown. While all Rayner family descendants receive stipends from this trust, as adjudicated by the board, acceptance of those funds is part of a legal contract that gives the Fund the power to take certain actions on the family's behalf."

"Wait, what?" Katerina thought back to the accounts her late husband had set up for their son's care.

"The Trust is issuing numerous suits for the return of titles and lands in your son's name through the power given to them by these contracts. I am to advise Your Grace to recuse yourself from these matters as you're related to the subject of the suits."

"This is outrageous," Katerina said, anger creeping into her normally measured voice.

The lawyer shrugged. "Here are your papers. You may wish to have your people look over them. I hope this season of joy find you well, Duchess," he said with a bow as he then spun on his heels and turned to leave.

Katerina glared at the back of the lawyer's head as he retreated toward the exit.

The forgotten man in who had been loitering nearby came closer. "Not unexpected news."

"Who in God's name are you?" Katerina asked, exasperated. She'd had enough surprises for the evening.

"I am but a man whose feet were made from clay. Like all men, I stand helpless before the dark. Guided by the distant light of the moon and stars, I wait for the sunrise. For while I dwell in darkness, I know the Exalted bearers come to bring Illumination to a dark world and you are at the Zenith of their art."

"Perhaps we have things to discuss then," Katerina said with some confusion.

* * *

Baldwin County

South Alabama

1:00 PM Central Standard Time

11:00 AM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Cheryl sneered under her mask. Even though it was December, the weather was unusually warm and the muggy soup these hillbillies called air didn't help.

They were standing on an unremarkable piece of land covered in ugly gnarled pines. The evergreens were bad enough, but the dead vines and undergrowth made her wonder how much harder it would be to navigate come Spring. Lucky she wouldn't have to find out.

Pentex had traced the ownership of this multi-acre eyesore in the backwoods of the ass end of nowhere to a holding company that was managed by lawyers who only ever dealt with their clients by phone. The company was attached to a trust fund that was in turned owned and funded by holdings in Switzerland. The Swiss were notoriously tight with their secrets: even with Pentex. However, the company investigators had been able to infer that the accounts relating to the property had come into existence in 2008; at almost the exact same time Mike D'Angelo had been ejected from his residence in New Orleans by its ruling Cabal.

Pentex wanted to know who hired him to blow up their fabrications lab. Mike D'Angelo was supposed to be a tough nut to crack, one who'd never rolled on anyone. Their orders were capture and interrogate him if possible; terminate if not. His pet werewolf was fair game either way, which suited Cheryl just fine. She was ready for some payback for what that monster had done to her and Talia.

Cheryl gave a nod to Talia and they both stormed toward the building at a rush. Talia was just behind her, covering her rear. They both ran in the odd, crouched gait used by assault troops and SWAT teams to cover a final rush. With a crash she kicked in the door.

Right where the Infrared said he'd be, sat Mike eating a plate of pizza he'd pulled from the microwave. Laying back in a recliner holding a beer was the werewolf. The beast didn't even have time to get up. Three rounds from Talia's assault rifle got him right in the chest. The anti-shifter rounds would put a quick end to him. Talia leveled a full auto burst into the mage's legs turning them into something that looked like hamburger.

"You had no idea who you were fucking with asshole," Cheryl gloated as she pulled the mask from her face.

"No! No, don't! Not like this," Mike groveled piteously.

Cheryl leaned over his ruined form. "I was interrogated once, you know. Government Spooks got me back when the Manifested were being treated like animals. It's going to be fun being on the other side you piece of shit," she said as she reached out to grab Mike by the hair.

"No, no, don't touch me," he said, trying to drag himself away.

Cheryl laughed as her hand came down. The laughter abruptly ended as her hand passed through the mage's head. His form rippled like water and both he and the werewolf vanished.

Before she could so much as blink she and Talia hit the ceiling and then the floor. Propelled by some unseen force, the duo then repeatedly rushed sideways; first into one wall then another before they were finally slammed into the floor a final time forcefully expelling what little air was left in their lungs. Steel spikes, each a foot long, erupted from the wooden floor, impaling both Dragon Blooded bodies; piercing their forearms and calves before bending over sharply to the floor, creating a sort of staple, pinning down each Dragon Blooded - alive.

Mike walked out of the bedroom and pulled his chair away from the table while grabbing a slice of pizza off the plate. "You owe me a new door," he said matter-of-factly. He waved his free hand and both weapons that had been rattled free from the attackers slid across the floor well away from the pinned duo.

Axe followed Mike into the room. He opened the fridge he pulled out a beer. The werewolf cracked the top on his beverage and looked around. He noticed something and gave Mike a punch on the arm, inclining his head towards the chair.

Mike chewed on his pizza as he looked over to where Axe had motioned. Thin metal tendrils where climbing up out of the bullet holes in the chair. The metallic threads were swaying about in search of prey. With a sigh, Mike waved at the wall. It split open, curling like it was alive. Mike made a gesture and the cushy chair floated out and then burst into white hot flames outside. It was much easier to deal with those things when they were not inside someone.

The tendrils waved about wildly and futilely, unable to escape their fate. The wall slid back into place. "And you owe me a recliner," Mike added as he took another bite of his pizza.

"Fuck you and your goddamn chair," Cheryl screamed, her rage covering her pain.

Mike calmly got up, finishing his slice of pizza and came to stand over Cheryl. He looked over her thoughtfully then gave her a swift kick in the gut just below the ribs. Pain shot through her side as she fought not to twist and make her impaled limbs hurt worse.

"You break into my house. You come charging into my very sanctum looking to make me your bitch so you can force me to divulge my secrets against my will and you have the audacity to tell _me_ to go fuck myself? Bitch, you really need to get your head in the game here, 'cause that's not how this works," Mike said in a dry, factual tone.

"We both know there are limits to what you will do. To slay us would invite reprisal, not just from Pentex but the other Manifested," Talia said, gritting her teeth through the pain.

"Yeah? Well, I got a talent for pissing powerful people off and living to tell about it so you might want to rethink the whole 'the threat of vengeance will stay his hand' line. You two bimbos press me and I'll kill you both and let the dice fall where it may. As for the Manifested, they can get in line behind all the others that wanna kill me."

"What do you want?" Talia asked. Her face, unlike Cheryl was twisted in pain, but her words were more calm. This one, Mike thought, had a hidden iron will. A plan began to form in his head.

"I don't know yet. You two, or someone who cares about you, has to pay some sort of forfeit. You see, I learned if you don't make someone pay for trying to kill you, it just encourages more people to try doing you in. So, I guess what we'll start with is what do _you_ know that _I_ might find useful?"

"You expect us to talk? I was interrogated by the government! By professionals. Do your worst you fucking amature," Cheryl taunted.

"Cheryl don't," Talia pleaded.

Cheryl braced for another kick but to her surprise she saw Mike step back and open up the fridge. Talia's plea had given him all the information he needed to begin. He rummaged around inside before he closed the door. In his hand was a small, clear medical culture tube full of a liquid so dark it was almost black. He stepped back to her side and unstopping it, tilted the tube toward her. As the liquid moved it caught enough light that she could see it was red. A single drop spilled, hitting her right on the center of her forehead.

"FEEL," Mike's voice intoned with an odd reverb. Cheryl's world was ripped away and replaced with sensation. She had braced for wracking pain and torment. What came was ecstasy: a pleasure beyond joy or drunkenness. It was beyond sex. There was no part of her body or mind it didn't reach; her soul alone retained the ability to register horror at this unbridled pleasure. She tried to fight but even the core of her being was touched as the wave of euphoric sensation crested insider her. When it broke, reality reasserted itself and her mind and soul were slammed back into her pain wracked body on the floor of the crappy little shack of a house.

"Oh yeah, you felt it. I believe the traditional words to use here are: Well, only the first one is free," Mike said his formerly clinical voice turning dark.

"No. No don't," Cheryl said.

"Yeah, I thought you'd have seen it or known someone who had. You came from the inner city. You know what addiction can do and Vampire Blood is more addictive than any substance on Earth. It's stronger than opiates, stronger than heroin. Oh, and guess what? With magic I don't even need much of it. Just that one drop to symbolically expose you to it and I can call up its effects again and again"

"Then why still have it out? I don't beli..."

"FEEL," Mike intoned again. While Cheryl was wracked with pleasure Mike stepped over to Talia.

"You know the mistake she made?" Mike asked.

"She thought the people that tormented her did the worst thing possible to her," Talia said as she stared at Cheryl in the throes of ecstasy while trying to keep a lid on her own pain. "They were still trying to pretend magic didn't exist and that we were not part of that world. Not to mention that professionals are expected to conduct themselves professionally. There are levels they can't sink too. You're no professional."

Mike laughed. "Well I'm not a professional interrogator that's true." Mike leaned down close and let a single drop from the flask touch Talia's head. "However, I'm a professional at the very first profession, older than prostitution no matter what they say. The original occupation that predates humanity. Survival."

"Don't. There's no need. I know we'll break. We care for each other too much to let this go on," Talia said. And just like that, he had them. It took less time than he thought it would. Mike cut a glance at Axe and a rare feeling of sympathy washed over the mage. His captive had accessed the situation and knew how it would end. She just wanted it to be over, not only for her, but her friend. And that was something Mike could respect.

"You know, that's fair. So, I'm going to do you a favor and let you in on a secret: if I don't hit you once it will be a wedge between you two. She'll think you were weak," Mike said.

"Then get this charade over with," Talia said.

Mike nodded. He leaned close and whispered into her ear then backed away as she started thrashing on the floor. "She's a smart cookie, Axe. These two might go somewhere in life if they ever get away from Pentex," he admitted.

"They haven't seen the real Pentex," Axe said in a tired voice. He looked over to see Cheryl weeping openly on the floor. Whether she wept from the return of the pain of her immobilized body or the sight of her friend in the same horror filled state of bliss from which had just returned he didn't know.

"They haven't learned the lessons we have. They're all bastards: Pentex, the Tribes, the Traditions, the Technos. They're all looking out for the agenda never their own, never for the soldiers in their wars. We're all cogs to them and I won't be part of their machine. Live free, die free. No gods, no masters. Only way to be, pal." Mike stated with grim determination.

* * *

Inglewood High

Department of Performing Arts

George Green Auditorium

12:03 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Kashi fidgeted uncomfortably in his chair. He wore a button up shirt (with the top two buttons undone) with slacks and no tie. It was as dressed up as he agreed to get for this. The auditorium was nearly full. Word had gotten out that the school had an above average chorus and drama group. The program consisted of a medley of traditional Christmas songs followed by a modern retelling of Dickens' _A Christmas Carol._ They were not close to the stage. Due to Kashi's heel dragging, they were only able to find seat near the back of the theater. Kashi wasn't particularly following the play and started to get up from his chair. It had already been an hour and it still had thirty minutes to go.

"What are you doing?" Banyan whispered. From beyond his mother, Nana Johnson gave him the evil eye. His sister had participated in the medley at the beginning of the program, but her part in the actual play had not come.

"Bathroom," Kashi whispered back with a frown.

Banyan scowled. "Hurry back."

Kashi made for the exit. He loved his mother but for a minute he thought she was going to tell him to sit down. He was quite grown enough to know when he had to go take a leak.

Once his business was done, out of sheer spite, Kashi decided to look around a bit before returning to his seat. He figured he'd make his mother stew a bit before returning to see Willow. He owed the squirt that much.

As he was enrolled in this school only six months ago, Kashi knew his way around the building. He drifted up toward the athletic department. He was not surprised to see his friend Toshi had some new trophies in the cases. He paused, with interest, at spying his own face and a newspaper article about his victory over the Aztecs that had been added to the inspiration box.

As he was reading the article a familiar voice called out to him. "Kashi?"

He turned to see Rosa, a younger girl he'd known while he was still a student here. Rosa was pretty, short and curvy. She had classic hispanic features and was one of the best cooks Kashi had ever known. That alone made her popular with him. She was a Senior this year and had always been very active in school events.

Kashi beamed at her. "Hey, Rosa! What's going on?"

"Just helping with the program. We're going to have food out for sale. You know, raise a little money for the school; with a captive audience and a ninety minute plus program, surely someone will get hungry," Rosa explained

"You don't have to be too hungry to want some of what you home-ec girls make unless it's gone down hill. But with you here I find that hard to believe.

Rosa gave Kashi a smile. "You were always a little hungry Kashi. Come on, I think I can help you sneak a treat."

Remembering how good Rosa was at baking, Kashi eagerly followed. She lead him back down the hall to a smaller room beside one of the home-ec kitchens with plenty of counter space and sinks. As soon as Kashi was in the room, Rosa whirled and threw her arms around his neck and pushed her lips into his. Startled, Kashi fell back a bit, finding himself pinned by the door.

Kashi's surprised mind darted about frantically until it latched onto the OTHER thing he and Rosa had always done after she let him sample whatever food she was making. Panicked, Kashi realized he was in a situation he'd never been in before. He'd never had an unwanted sexual advance.

Kashi pushed back slightly and their lips parted."Umm….Rosa?"

"God, I've missed you Kashi Kimura. I know we were never serious, but I swear, no one left in this school knows how to use their body...or maybe it's just that no one here has a body like yours," Rosa said as she began to unbutton Kashi's shirt.

"Hold on, wait, Rosa," Kashi began again starting to squirm away uncomfortably.

"You're right, we need better placement," she said completely missing what his body language was screaming. "Over here, I can get up on the countertop. It's just the right height," she said as she grabbed Kashi's arm and headed for the counter dragging him behind her.

Kashi followed halfway to the counter before he stopped. Rosa, who wasn't looking back, found herself suddenly anchored by Kashi's dead stop.

"Rosa, no. I can't."

She smiled sympathetically. "Your knee still hurt? I can take the top."

"No. I mean I can...I just can't... you know?"

"Huh? You're not making any sense, Kashi," Rosa said confused.

"I have a serious girlfriend now. We...um...have plans and stuff. I, umm..."

"You what?" she sputtered in disbelief before quickly recovering and giving a shrug. "Well so what? She doesn't have to know. Come on, Kashi, for old times sake," Rosa said, giving him a smoldering look through her eyelashes and hopping up on the counter. She started to pull her skirt up showing off her panties. With practiced ease, she started sliding them down her legs.

"Rosa, no. I mean it. Just no."

"Oh come on! It'll be fun and I got half a chocolate cake you can have after."

Kashi's brow furrowed and anger crept into his voice."I said no, Rosa! You can't buy dick with desserts."

"Then what the fuck was I doing the last two years?" Rosa asked, her tone growing angry as well.

Kashi blinked. He felt like he'd been hit between the eyes. "I'm not a whore," he said in shock.

"Oh for Christ's sake, Kashi, why do you think anyone did anything for you?" Rosa asked, her fury rising.

The door behind them opened. "Pull em up and scram, Rosa," another female voice said.

Kashi turned, taking a step back so he could keep both voices in view. He had thought he recognized the new voice and he was right. His friend Sam was standing in the door her own face a cold, angry mask that matched Rosa's hot fury.

"Don't you tell me what to do, Samantha Montgomery," Rosa spat.

"Look, he doesn't want to and I'm not about to let you try to guilt him into. Unlike Kashi I don't have any misplaced gallantry to keep me from bloodying your nose. Now, do what I said and get out," Samantha said.

Rosa blinked she was furious. Her fury helped her cover her own embarrassment at throwing herself at Kashi without realizing he might have changed since high school. That fury was not enough to make the mistake of tangling with a girl who was serious about martial arts. Rosa pulled up her panties and did her best 'see what you're missing strut' out of the room.

"Thanks, Sam," Kashi smiled.

"Kashi, you're an idiot. How could you go off with her like that? How could you do that to Sayuri?" Sam asked accusingly.

"Wait, no, it wasn't like that. I just thought she had sweets. God, that sounds lame," Kashi said, embarrassed.

"If I didn't know you so well, I would think you were putting me on. As it is, I'm surprised you didn't end up lured into a van by the free candy pedo patrol," Sam snickered

"Actually...that almost happened. Why do you think I got so fat in Middle School. It was stress relief eating and a coping mechanism."

Sam's face fell. "Oh shit, really? Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Kashi shrugged. "Didn't really realize it myself. I sort of went to a therapy thing with Sayuri around Thanksgiving. It all came out in treatment, or whatever you call it.," he said, simplifying the rather complex events that had happened a few weeks before.

"Hell, I just thought you were a pig for food until you discovered sex," Sam said in amazement.

"Hey! I got into shape before that! You were there when I discovered sex."

"Ehh, yeah sex with other people sure, but...okay, nevermind, we're drifting off topic. So, you didn't stray from Sayuri, you just were gullible as all hell. You're going to have to learn to read the signs, Kashi, or get good at refusing advances. I know you haven't had any practice. I think every girl in this school who was curious and halfway decent had a go at you."

"Wait...I was the school bicycle?"

"Kashi, you were easier than that. People can fall off a bicycle, you were the school's trike. There was almost no way to fail with you.

He looked stunned. "Damn it. Now I'm going to need therapy for sure. I feel sort of dirty," Kashi said dully as if his entire view of himself had just been challenged.

Sam eyed him incredulously before her features softened and she clapped him on the shoulder. "Come on. Despite all that, you've been the most loyal friend anyone could ever have. I can't speak for everyone else, but at least for some of us, the sex was only an added bonus."

Kashi smiled, his spirit buoyed by her words. "Well, that's good to know. Thanks, Sam, you're like the sister I never had."

Sam stood there for a moment, eyeing him curiously. Kashi, in turn, looked back wondering, why she'd stopped.

"Oh shit, yeah, Willow! I got to get back to the auditorium."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Come on, I'll go with you. My little brother was cast in the part of stranger three. That's why I'm here. He's so proud to be what basically amounts to scenery that I'm starting to worry about his self esteem."

"Hey, how did you know I was in here?" Kashi asked, starting back out the door.

"I saw you get up. You kinda stick out, Kashi. I followed you. However, once I figured out you were in the bathroom, I hung back. I had something I wanted to ask you. Have you heard anything out of Brandon? He does go to your school."

"No. I mean he's on football and a different class schedule. It's way different than here. UCLA is a big place."

"That's what's bothering me. _No one_ has seen him."

"Wait what?"

"He's been missing since Thanksgiving. His dad got a note from him that he was pursuing an internship with a big company called Fabsys. They make electronics for the military. All of Brandon's scholastics are on hold. He's passed the semester and they aren't revoking his scholarship or status. His tests were mailed in. Someone with some serious clout forced the school administration to be cool about it. He's over eighteen so his dad can't do much, but no one knows where he is," Sam said, worried.

"When was the last time he was seen?" Kashi asked, a growing sense of dread was raising the hairs on the back of his neck.

"Thanksgiving Day he and some girl went to that stupid surprise parade thing downtown. I thought since you were involved in that publicity stunt, you might know something or have seen him."

Kashi shook his head. They had reached the auditorium door. "I'll ask around and find out what I can, Sam."

From inside the Auditorium came a roar of ovation muffled by the closed door. The play was obviously over. Kashi winced. His mother was going to kill him, he'd missed almost all of Willow's performance. He opened the door for Sam and headed back inside. He artfully ducked the pair of dark gazes he was getting from his mother and nana and joined in the applause. However, inside, he was deeply worried about his friend.

* * *

Rayner Mansion

Santa Cruz County, California

12:40 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Claus Rayner rose from his chair with a warm smile on his face. "Brandon Walker! It's good to see you again, my boy. Hungry? I was just about to take some lunch."

"Thank you, sir. I don't mind if I do. It looks good," Brandon said.

" _Kartoffelsalat mit Würstchen_ has always been a favorite of mine. Don't bother with the 'sir' stuff here. You're my grandson's friend and therefore my friend. You're welcome to share the bounty on this table without formality. There is some _Frikadellen_ in that pot. Don't tell the wife she's a vegetarian."

"And you're still married?" Brandon asked with mock surprise as he dipped out some of the meatballs and added them to a bacon laced potato salad with a large Frankfurt sausage.

"You should see her. You don't think Lorelei's looks all came from me do you? Hah!"

Brandon looked about and saw only beer and water to drink. He reached for a beer bottle "You don't mind?"

"Nonsense. Go right ahead - it's good lunch beer, a _Dunkelweizen_. I don't stand by puritanical American customs in my own home," the old man said joyfully. "The bacon in this salad is amazing cooked just so."

"You're _definitely_ Kashi's grandpa alright."

"Nothing wrong with a little indulgence if you stay active and you, my boy, have been very active. The double speed boot camp we had you in has sent me back some excellent reports."

"Good to know, but now that I'm through there, what do I do now sir...I mean Claus?"

"Well, you're finished with regular, if accelerated, curriculum. Now it's time for your serious specialist training in preparation for gaining some _real_ powers, my boy. For that sort of training, I'm going to have to send you to a special facility. One of my top men, John Dugan, runs it. It's in Antarctica, but it's all indoors."

"Ahh. So this meal is a bit of a reprieve? One last bit of civilization before the frozen wastes? I had hoped for a few weeks off. I don't mind the hard work, don't get me wrong, but I have never been a monk either. I'm really surprised Kashi's kept his dick in his pants for so many months for that Sayuri girl. She must have him wrapped up tight on that finger of hers."

"Well, the right woman can do that. You're not being sent to a convent, either. There will be women there: fit, trim ones who are rather sexually adventurous, actually." The turn in conversation made the old man reflect to himself that it was rather fortunate the Jadeborn didn't reproduce sexuallly, despite having the right equipment for the job. If Jadeborn physiology had been like the Manifested, the careful plans he'd laid out would have been radically different. Having half their force down for maternity leave would be an extreme inconvenience. It was an advantage the Jadeborn had. As it stood, such sexual encounters lead to increased closeness and enhanced the _esprit de corps_ and that was it.

"Well, that might not be so bad then," Brandon said, thoughtfully, munching on the plate of cold lunch.

"Yes, and once there, they can invest you with powers so that when you do come back you'll be an agent fully ready to work. Hopefully by that time, I'll have spoken to Kashi and maybe you two can even work together…" he then looked down, visibly annoyed. "Hold on I'm getting a call it must be terribly important for them to break in on lunch."

Claus got up and walked out on to the balcony while pulling his phone out. "Yes, what is it?" He said in an clipped tone. He truly did not like getting interrupted at lunch.

"Sir, sorry to disturb you, but your contractor from the Pentex case has called. He claims to have time sensitive data about a upper tier event that will result in multiple urban areas eradicated and massive awareness breaches," the assistant on the line said in her nasally voice.

"Put him through." If this wasn't worth it, Claus was going to see DeAngelo sharply punished.

"Rayner? Is this finally Rayner?" Mike's voice said through the phone.

"It is. Speak," Claus said.

"Not much time, the Seventh Sons are up to some down right coocoo shit and you're the only one I know who can mobilize enough force to stop them."

"What are you talking about?"

"Have you heard of a Zmei Dragon?"

"You now have my full attention. What your source on this?" Claus' aggravated clip gave way to a tone that was all business.

"The two Manifested they put on finding the box gave up on that and came for me. I got them to break and give me some info. I used that information to break into Pentex's databases. I know you're thinking this is extreme even for Pentex, but they're seriously butthurt over that heist. They think their stupid box and the Crucible was taken by allies of the New Orleans cartel, so if the Seventh Sons wipe them out all the better."

"I would almost let them to wipe that place out."

"The only place in North America they are sure they can pull off the ritual while targeting the Zmei Dragon is at the Deep Wound Spiral in California. That thing would rampage across two thousand miles and five states," Mike said.

"The Seventh Sons might be madmen, but not even their lot are that insane."

"There's been a migration. The more insane elements of Pentex have been migrating to the Sons and the more sane Sons have been abandoning ship to Pentex. That leaves no one to hold the extremist back," Mike explained.

"And you're sure Pentex will take no action? This could go badly for them too. The blow back alone will be formidable and not just from us."

"They're going to let the Seventh Sons take the fall and claim there is some sort of disaster tonight that will cover their work enough to get away with it."

"There might be something to that. I had plans to contain a different situation tonight. However, this takes priority. Where are you? I'll have to scramble some help," Rayner said.

"Do you think I'm some sort of a saint? I've passed the word on like a responsable fucking citizen. I'm out."

"If you didn't think this needed to be dealt with, you wouldn't have called and we will need every hand we can get. I'll even give your friend a pass on this one," the director's tone hinted at his hurry. He was willing to cut a deal. Having no time to haggle, Claus went straight to the bottom of what he'd accept.

"Shit... well fuck. I mean, I don't go for all that saving the world bullshit, but that's not fucking far from where I live, you know, and I sort of got used to keeping my stuff here. Okay, screw it, but you owe me, old man. Where do I meet you? Griffith Observatory? Maybe Anaheim?"

"Who the hell goes to Anaheim? No, you can come here to the house and be sure your dog doesn't bring any fleas in with him. I'll leave a hole in the teleportation grid. Get here ASAP and bring any toys you think you'll need. I'm not sure you'll be able to use our gear without training and we're short on time."

"Right. Be there in maybe an hour. I got some toys to dig up that might help. I hope you got enough to keep this from being a suicide mission."

Claus ended the call and stepped back inside "Terribly sorry, son, but an emergency came up and we are going to have to expedite things. I was going to send you on a plane, but we are not going to have that kind of time."

"What do you have that's faster than a plane?" Brandon asked.

"We're going to teleport there. Is that your bag? Go grab it up," the old man's thumbs started going over the screen of his phone faster than a twelve year old girl on a Twitter break.

"They don't have to take apart our bodies into atoms to do that do they? I'm rather keen on keeping all my molecule chains factory standard," Brandon asked nervously.

"No, no, nothing like that. We just fold space in a quantum tunneling wormhole effect. Don't worry. Even most experts just parrot the words, but like most technology, it doesn't have to make sense to you so long as someone knows how it works. I do it rather frequently - it's safe, just a little disconcerting your first time, but not dangerous. Hurry up now."

"What does it feel like? Can I prepare for it?" Brandon asked, jogging back over.

"You know that first big hill on every roller coaster - the one you go down to get the speed to do all the rest? It feels a bit like that."

"Oh... I can do that."

"Yes I'm sure. Just raise it by a power or two."

"Wha-"

And with that they were both gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Inglewood High

Department of Performing Arts

12:53 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

A few members of the audience lingered in the hall outside the auditorium to congratulate the cast on their performance and on the play's success. Willow stood in a knot of performers with the choral director, Mrs. Randall. The teacher was praising Willow. Her performance had been impressive. Of particular note was Willow's ability to tailor her performance to evoke specific emotional responses. It seemed to work even better on crowds.

Willow was surprised and flushed with excitement. In fact, she seemed more dynamic and energized then anyone had ever seen before. Rather than a tired wreck ready to crash, she was highly animated. Mrs. Randall assumed her endurance training with her brother must have worked.

Willow didn't see it that way. Her own explanation for her elation and energy was simple and had nothing to do with Kashi's endurance training: she'd never had this much positive attention from her classmates. However, she thought that positive attention was about to come to a screeching halt. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the leaders of the school's more popular cliques, Sabrina, saunter up to her with her friends Monica and Jennifer in tow.

"Hey Kimura? That was pretty awesome. Monica was in choir last year," Sabrina said.

Monica nodded. "Had to drop it this year. Tonsil surgery wrecked my voice. Too bad. I'd love to do something with you sometime. You made Jennifer's dad cry and he works for a studio, so that's like, really impressive."

Jennifer nodded. "Totally. He asked Mrs. Randall for some recordings. So that's a good sign."

Willow's former nemesis, Grace, had been quietly hanging at the back of the pack as if she was trying not to be seen. She finally spoke up and it was not in the demanding, authoritative tone she usually used. "You think we can put all that Middle School stuff behind us and start over?"

Willow could almost feel her jaw hit the floor.

Monica nodded. "Yeah. Maybe you should come with us to get lunch or something sometime. You two could work on forgetting any old history."

Willow, still reeling, tried to collect herself. "Well, um, Kimmy's mom was taking us out for pizza, maybe you could come with us?"

Jennifer gasped. "Oh. My. God! Pizza sounds _so_ much better than burgers right now!"

Monica nodded. "Yeah, we'll meet you over at the pizza joint around the corner then." With that, she spun on her heel and retreated, the rest of the pack of girls following in her wake.

Willow gave a sudden start. She had not talked to her mother yet about going out. With a rapid rush she started off to find Banyan. Fortunately for her, her mother and Kashi were waiting by the doors keeping an eye out for her. "Mom! Can I go get pizza with some of the group from the play?! Kimmy's mom is taking us! Some of the other girls are going too," Willow babbled excitedly.

Banyan eyed her daughter for signs that her energy was mere adrenaline. The last thing the girl needed was to drop from exhaustion while off with her friends. She'd be blamed for bringing the party down. Seeing no signs of an impending crash, Banyan pressed for more information. "Miss Taylor is bringing you back?"

"Hey Banyan!" She saw Alice Taylor waving at her from across the auditorium foyer. The two women met halfway and exchanged pleasantries.

"Hey! Willow said you were going to take the girls for pizza?"

Alice Taylor nodded. "Oh, yes, well, Mrs. Randall and I are. We can have Willow home in about two hours. That's not too late is it?"

Banyan rounded on her son, who looked supremely disinterested in the conversation. He had been so absorbed in his phone he had not even noticed his sister's atypical behavior. "Kashi will you still be at home?"

Kashi perked up at the mention of his name. "Um, oh, yeah. If they run late Sayuri and I can hang around 'til they get back."

"Alright, Willow, you can go."

"Thanks!" Willow said as she raced off to join her friends.

Banyan watched her vanish into the crowd of excited girls and shook her head. Nana Johnson knew what Banyan was thinking and spoke up. "Good for her. It'll be healthy for her to spend time with her classmates. She's alway been such a loner, that girl."

"Very true. Come on, let's go. And don't think I've forgotten about you either, mister," Banyan said to her son.

Kashi was trailing behind the two women as if on auto pilot. He stepped through the green double doors of the high school's auditorium and was outside before he mother's words even registered with him. Most people were going out by the front where the bake sale tables waited.

"You mean why I was gone?! That wasn't something I planned. My friend Sam wanted to talk to me about something important. Brandon's gone missing," Kashi said, slightly annoyed that his mother was still harping on his forced attendance at Willow's program.

Nana Johnson looked up and back at Kashi. "Miss Walker told me her grandson was involved in some shady internship. Her son was worried. It was either some kind of scam or maybe a cult. She hasn't seen him. He left all of a sudden. The boy even missed Thanksgiving dinner. It's peculiar. He never had Kashi's enthusiasm for the holiday, but I never knew that child to miss a Thanksgiving."

"That is...odd. I guess I'll cut you some slack then, Kashi. I'm sorry. I thought you were ditching your sister out of spite. So, he's been gone since _Thanksgiving_ you say?" Banyan asked, stressing the name of the holiday and looking directly into Kashi's eyes.

"That's what Sam said."

"Hey Nana, you're a better judge than me of what might be good to buy when it comes to baked goods. Do you mind picking out something for us from the bake sale?"

"Say no more, Banny. You and Kashi talk," the elderly lady said as she stepped away to peruse the tables so Kashi and his mother talked privately.

The second she was out of earshot, Banyan turned to Kashi. "Do you think he got involved in that paranormal mess that was going on at that parade?"

"I don't know, but I'm worried too. I sent James a text. I'm hoping he'll get back to me with more. He said he's looking into it."

"James? Didn't you say he's kind of a screw up?"

"No, I mean yes, but not with stuff like this. He's good at finding out stuff, just not good at doing stuff. He's a research guy, not a action guy," Kashi tried to explain.

"Ahh. I think I see what you mean. What are you going to do if it's something supernatural?"

Kashi sighed. "Honestly, I have no idea. That's such a broad question. There's so much supernatural stuff out there and it's all so different. I'm likely going to have to have James or someone break it down for me if he is in supernatural trouble - and that's a big if. However, if he is in trouble, I want to help him, but I'd have to look at how and what I could do if anything. But, for all I know, he got lucky and is on his way to a six figure salary after some sort of internship."

Banyan put her hand on her son's cheek. "Alright. It's good knowing you'd not just run off without a plan. Just, please, keep me informed. I want to know what's going on in your life, Kashi, it's not good to be left with nothing but worries and no information."

"Right. Hey, I'll go help Nana with her purchases and you can pull around to pick us up over there okay?"

Banyan nodded and headed to her car.

As Kashi approached the bake sale, he saw Sam and Nana Johnson conversing. Curious, he pushed through the crowd, but the pair parted before he could overhear what they were talking about. He helped Nana get a cake, a brownie tray, and a plate of cookies into the car as Banyan pulled up.

The drive home was more easily paced; at least as far as L.A. traffic at Christmas allowed. As Banyan pulled into the driveway and turned to Kashi. "I'm going to get a nap before I have to go to work, but I'll be back in plenty of time for Willow's birthday breakfast. Nana, I'll see you then."

"Don't worry. I'll be here if Kashi or Willow need anything. Kashi, help me get this stuff up into the house. I also need help moving a few things," Mrs. Johnson said.

Kashi blinked. It was not often Nana asked for help. She still even put up her own Christmas tree. She only asked for such if it was a task well beyond her.

"Do I need to change clothes?" Kashi asked, envisioning moving heavy furniture.

"I doubt it. I could do it myself if I wasn't worried the ladder would tip."

Kashi followed his surrogate grandmother into her house across the street. He set the baked goods on the counter in the kitchen. The elderly woman beckoned him to a closet. She pointed up to the very top shelf. "Get me that box up there and bring it into the kitchen."

Kashi pulled over the nearby step ladder and pulled down the heavy box. He made his way after her into the kitchen.

"Come here and sit down, child. Open it. This was Avery's old case."

"Looks like something out of a movie. There some nuclear launch codes or secret weapon inside?" Kashi quipped, running his hands over the shiny metal case. He opened it with a soft click. Inside there were mementos, postcards and photographs, including one of Nana and Avery on their wedding day.

"No, just things he wanted protected. Here, look," Nana reached into the case and pulled out a small jewelry box. It was the type that usually held a small pendant or a pair of earrings. With a snap the box opened and Kashi saw it held three platinum rings. One was a band, next was a band set with small diamonds and finally one with a large diamond and smaller ones around it.

"What is this?" Kashi asked.

"Kashi, I talked to your friend Samantha. I know how you told that other girl no when she was pressuring you. I'm proud of you, son, and I...well I want you to have these for when the time is right."

"What?" Kashi asked, shocked.

"These were Avery's mother and father's bands. They were given to Lyndon when he proposed to his wife Danisha. When they died, they were given to me to keep. We had hope Marcus would turn his life around and have need of them someday. Avery loved you, boy, and he'd be proud of the man you've become. I want you to have these for when the time feels right for you and Sayuri."

"Nana..." Kashi trailed off.

Nana teared up "Bless you, boy. You don't have to say nothin'. I knew it was love by what a change it made in you. A man doesn't change so much for a passing fancy. You've proven those changes have stuck. I don't hold that you're too young either. You're older than I or your mama was when we wed. Not that I'm saying rush either. You and her got your schooling, but then again, nothing wrong with a long engagement either. The Lord will let you know when it's time. Just follow your heart."

"I can't. These are too valuable. They're platinum, Nana."

"Nonsense. The only value they have is in their use. I'm never going to sell them and no one I'd give them to would have the need of them. Avery ain't got but one living nephew and his son is too young. By the time he's of marrying age, I'll be gone and no one would know their history."

Kashi took the small box. It felt as if it weighed much more now. As if the responsibility being entrusted him had physical weight. Lacking for words, he hugged Nana who returned the hug with ferocity. "Now when the time comes, you do right by that girl. Down on one knee and all that. Don't embarrass Avery or me."

"I will. I promise," Kashi swore solemnly.

* * *

Rome, Italy

Castel Sant'Angelo

10:01 PM Central European Time

1:01 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Katerina followed the very average man. She was beginning to get nervous. Everything around her was bare and empty. The opulence of the Vatican had melted away to ancient stonework. The man stopped before a large door. He opened it, revealing several studious looking men. Her eyes gravitated to the leader. The subtle cues of the others' body language revealed him to Katerina's gaze.

He was of average height and had a lean build. He had care in his grooming. Not a hair seemed out of place. His face had high cheekbones, a long nose and a small chin. A light beard helped balance his face. Grey-blue eyes were alive with what Katerina could only describe as an 'ageless wisdom.' It was as if he had seen all the horror and wonder in the world and accepted it without judgment. He bowed to her.

"Princess Katerina. Please, sit. You must be tired from such a long walk. Your mind must be full of questions and a excited mind and tired body are never a good combination. I believe this is your favorite brand of spring water? I would offer you wine, but we have so much to discuss and shall need our wits about us," the man said in Spanish. It was impeccable Castilian that was also a trifle old fashioned and formal. He spoke as Katerina remembered her grandmother speaking.

"I have many questions. Indeed, you seem to know much of me. I suppose I cannot be too surprised. I am a public figure, but I cannot help but feel the one sidedness of our relationship. Also, I am a Duchess, not a Princess. Our families entanglement with the bloodline of the French crown is a complex legal manner. Even so, the French titles do not flow matrilineally."

"So it is. We shall rectify much of the inequity of understanding. You will know more of me and our Order than any outsider ever has, but such revelations must be handled delicately. First, the most shocking. This will show you why we call you 'Princess.' The title is not French or a mistake. Alfonso the book, please."

One the other men placed a tome on the table before her. Katerina's first thought was that such a thing should be in a museum. The style was Italian, likely early Renaissance, although like most books written at the time, it was in Latin. The second man opened the leather bound books cover. Inside was the title page.

 _A collection of our knowledge pertaining to the Princes of the Earth, the Lords of Creation, who rule with the Divine Mandate all that is under Heaven, as appointed by the Celestial Powers,_ the title proclaimed.

He then turned it to a page marked by an elaborate bookmark. Inscribed on the vellum were gilded depictions of the five Solar Caste symbols while on the opposite page, in silver, were the symbols of the Lunar Exalted. Beneath each symbol, written in elegant script, was the name of the corresponding caste.

"What is this? Where did this come from? How do you know these things?"

The first man spoke again. "Our Order exists to keep the elder lore safe and inform the Illuminators, the Chosen Ones, those who drive back the darkness and defend man. The age of our organization is beyond even my comprehension. Some of its secrets are lost, even to us, despite our best efforts, but if you will listen, I will tell you the tale as we know it."

"You have my attention, sir, but...I am sorry, I do not believe you gave me your name?"

"Please. Call me Piero. The story is quite lengthy. Is there anything you require before I begin this tale? Food? Coffee?"

Katerina shook her head. "I am ready."

"As you wish. Long ago, in the last Age, in the time before our world as we know it, the world which came before was ended. Its enemies were too many and its heroes were too few to save it directly. A long age of ignorance and complacency had robbed the world of the strength it needed to fight off the horrors that sought its destruction. Monsters assailed it and drove it to ruin. So, the Exalted worked to erect a mystical wall; a barrier against the dark. The last acts of heroism by the Chosen, whose souls are illuminated by the Celestial lights, saved the world but only just. The Celestial powers and their Chosen fought the darkness and were locked away from the world, beyond the protective barrier. Instead, lesser spirits were sealed within and charged with the repair and preparation of the world for a renewed conflict.

"The imperishable Light of the Celestials that illuminates the Chosen would slip through the tiniest crack to reach souls filled with heroism, but such cracks would be a prelude to a total failure of the barrier. The Chosen would not have much time to bring the world to readiness for invasion, so the Lesser Spirits were given powerful tools to aid them in a hard task. Most of the surviving mortals were in poor shape, refugees traumatized by the horrors of an apocalyptic war. However, amongst them was one man, a lesser king and scholar not of the Chosen, but numbered among their allies. He possessed a relic the Chosen had wrought which gave him power. As a learned man, he knew the ways of spirits. He knew they were alien to men and so when he found that his fellows were beginning to fall into a deep slumber he pretended to fall into the same. When they awoke they remembered nothing. He followed suit and feigned ignorance.

"The spirits sought first to rebuild the numbers of humanity and distributed them about the world into pockets, focusing all their power over the damaged Earth to make small gardens were every human need was cared for; food grew wild and in abundance and even in their ignorance those within were able to rebuild their strength and give birth to many children.

"Our wise Scholar-King knew, however, that trials and tribulations build character and strength. Such indulgence would not breed heroes and sages, but weak fops and fools. There were some few spirits who saw the wisdom in this and our Scholar-King found his way to their lands where he distributed his lore carefully, training heroes and sages inducting each with the power of his relic: an icon of rulership gifted to him by the Chosen, he could command them to silence should their secret be in danger of discovery.

"He watched as the spirits realized their mistake and ejected humanity from their idyllic paradises. He bemoaned their excess when they wrought cruel punishments for those they thought acted wrongly and as beings they made to protect man as brothers were turned to inciting fear in the weak. This was folly as well and was no way to forge heroes. It was cruelty.

"The situation degenerated, but as it did, the Scholar-King formed his students into a secret society. It was obvious the spirits were not up to the task of preparing the world. Their minds were too alien and their ways too tempestuous and unmeasured. His society was to wait for the Illumination of the Chosen to return. They would act in what small ways they could to mitigate the world's weakness but more the anything else, they were to keep alive the lore of what was and when they returned, serve the Chosen.

"Then the great deluge came: a flood to wipe away the current mistakes of the spirits. During this time the spirits had grown suspicious and realized the Scholar-King was working behind their backs. They hunted him down. The staff of authority given to him made him ageless, but nothing is truly immortal. Before he was caught he passed his staff and authority to another. The truth was not to die with him. In time each Master of the Order has had the staff and with it become ageless, yet here and there, misfortune or weight of ages on the mind overcomes the current holder and the office and staff are passed to another.

"While small, our Order seeks the best and the brightest. They are taught the lore and taught to prepare the world in what small ways they can and, most importantly, to watch for the return of the Chosen. We await the return of the Illumination and thus here we are."

Katerina's eyes narrowed. "You really expect me to believe you are the Illuminati?"

Piero shrugged. "Times change. Legends grow and history is distorted into falsehoods and half-truths. However, an eye is our symbol, for it's the mark we all gain when we swear on the staff of rulership."

Two men brought a case over and opened it. Within was a scepter with a short broken haft of wood topped by a golden and crystal dragon. Katerina could tell simply by looking that the metal was oricalcum. The thing resonated with the light within her.

"I believe you. It sounds like utter madness but I do. It is too preposterous to be a lie."

"Good. Now, our Order, over the millennia, has gathered much to help the Chosen. Information is our greatest weapon. We have spies. Heaven knows, we have spies. We also have accumulated wealth and treasure. Not as much as one would think, however, but several king's ransoms to be sure. While our goal is to help and prepare for the Chosen, we also do what we can to avert suffering when we are able, which is a drain on resources. A welcome drain, but a drain nonetheless. Our true wealth is information. You have received a small sample already, and we offer you more: Nigel. The painting."

The man who must have been Nigel removed a cover from a painting. It was a young German noble leading his soldiers in battle. He was handsome, almost pretty. Somehow the face was familiar. It was a bit like her husband's. Next to the Renaissance tome on the table before her, another man sat down a photograph. This one more recent, from World War I. It was Russian and German diplomats negotiating the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

The presenter pointed to a figure in the background. "Notice this man."

"My God that is the same..." Katerina stopped. Something about the man prickled at her mind. Age had distinguished him and worn away the edges of prettiness, but he was the same.

"And in this picture?" In it Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia was with a collection of the rare aristocratic supporters of the Nazi party meeting with other German luminaries. Lurking similarly in the back, like a shadow, was the same man only older. Now that he was older she knew him.

"That man he is... Claus Rayner?"

"Close, my Princess. That is only an alias. He changes it now and then. Augustin Claus-Werner von Rayner, born in Ingolstadt, Bavaria circa 1835. I believe you were just informed as to the unusual circumstances of his birth. He is also one of the most powerful Mages in the world. He would draw issue with the term, however. His Order believes that by spinning the heads of men against the belief in the mystical that they can make the supernatural disappear. This is only true for weakers spirits and fairies but their single minded determination alone has seen a significant reduction in the population of supernatural entities. Some would say they are practicing a 'final solution' in regards to those of magical heritage."

"This man is my enemy."

"If so we are bound to help you defeat him, but to do so you must know him. Knowledge is our weapon and we turn our arsenal over to you. I urge you to share it with your fellows. The coming darkness will not wait for us to prepare for it."

Katerina nodded. "I will. I swear it. I will do all in my power to unite the world to defend it and to drive out any enemies that linger within."

* * *

Silbern Household

St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana

5:00 PM Central Standard Time

3:00 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Everything was going according to schedule. The motor pool with Mira Giovanni was rolling into the edges of the city. By the time it made it to the house the sun would have fully set. Guards were in place in the streets and on the roofs. Somewhere among her own guards was Jonathan Cole. Campeggio had loaned out the aid of his deadly agent. Every piece was in place to prevent anything unexpected from interfering with her visit. She would roll up to the house with it dark enough for her to step out into the winter air and be welcomed into the house where a reception awaited. Perhaps then they would learn what had the Giovanni so spooked as to ask for a meeting on such short notice.

The thing about preparing for the unexpected was when one became good at it one began to feel like they truly were prepared for anything. That no random deviation from the norm could be weird enough to fall outside the bounds of readiness, of any preparation one had laid. That mentality left one open for the truly bizarre to take them by utter surprise.

"Dr. Spectre there's an unidentified car inside our perimeter," One of the A.W.T.E.P.S. coordinators said.

Spectre looked out across the grounds. In the rapidly dying winter light there was a brand new Mercedes Benz S class model in a bright blue paint pulling up at their front door. Whoever it was wasn't just inside the perimeter they were inside the compound! "Scramble some security and...the hell?"

The car had opened its door and Spectre was not at all prepared for what came out. He dashed out of the room headed for the front doors.

* * *

A few floors up on the main level of the compound, in the rear wing of the grandiose house was the space Alex and Heather reserved for their family. It was their home within the larger building that served as the local supernaturals government center. Alex was sitting in his easy chair drinking a cold beer. He was rather proud of himself. He had finished the last minute add-ons to the girl's Christmas list early and he was toasting his own success.

Just as he was about to settle in for an evening of politely, but actively and deliberately avoiding whatever it was the vampire guest that was meeting with Spectre wanted, he heard the ear splitting shriek of his eldest girl coming from the hall. His peaceful moment vanished. Instinctively, he leapt up from his chair to find her in a panic. He ran in the direction she was pointing; toward a crowd that was gathered near the main entry at the end of the hall.

Alex rushed in a panic for the crowd shoving his way through he began to transform...only to fight back the change and arrest the transformation with a supreme act of will.

The crowd was gawking, unsure what to make of who had arrived. Standing in the doorway was the 4'2" form of Jay Odele, Canadian pop sensation. Alex saw his seven year old daughter was practically swooning.

Spectre made it up the stairs and stopped, his eyes riveted on the new arrival. Alex was looking past him at the bodyguard. He was a werewolf. Get of Fenris. Not a Tribe he normally got along with, but if they behaved, he had to offer hospitality.

The guard gave him a nod.

"Something you cooked up for the girls or your guest, Doc?" Alex asked turning to his friend.

"No, but this might be important. He's one of the new Manif- the Exalted. One of the fate weaving, future-seeing kind," the Doc answered.

Alex shrugged. Well, find out what he wants and don't let the girls embarrass themselves too much. I'm going back to the den. My beer is getting warm."

"You _are_ going to come out of your hole when Mira gets here?"

"I hadn't planned on it, but Mira's not too bad for a vampire. At least she picked that life because she had too."

"Right, well, I'm going to find out what he's here for," Spectre said, inclining his head ot Jay Odele.

Alex returned to his den and rested in his recliner. He turned on the T.V. and began enjoying the sports recap on the local news. He listened to the T.V. as the news moved on, he drifted off into a deep nap.

He awoke to the feeling something wasn't right. As he cracked open his eyes, he noticed his girls were gathered around his chair trying to stifle their giggling. It was a sure sign they were up to something. He performed a quick headcount to see if someone was missing. Usually the missing child was the perpetrator in whatever mischief precipitated such a gathering. However, instead of being one short, he was one high. Opening his eyes further in surprise, he found the diminutive Jay Odele was standing amongst his children hardly taller than his own rather tall girls.

"Can I help you?" Alex asked.

"DADDY! He's here to see _YOU_!" Alexandra, the eldest, squealed excitedly.

"Huh?"

"Jay came all this way to see you, Daddy! See I told you Daddy was super important," Alexandra told her sisters.

"Why would you come to see me?"

"It's complicated and I didn't know you'd be busy with this vampire stuff, so I might wait to talk to you about it until this, whatever this is, gets done," Odele said airily.

Alex snorted. "Do I look like a man busy with vampire stuff? Besides, don't you see the future? You didn't foresee that?"

"Also complex, but easier to explain, I think. You see, the world of the dead isn't in fate."

"So you can't see vampires? There are alot of vampire around. I assume that would put a huge fog over everything?"

"Not exactly. You see, if anything outside fate lives in fate long enough, it gets written in and while vampires are empowered by the energy of death, they live in the world. But the Giovanni deal with ghost and ghosts live in the underworld."

"Ahh, got you. So projectors and necromancers like Maria Grove are likely a problem."

"See, Daddy's smart," Alexa, the second eldest girl, bragged.

"Girls why don't you go check on the dogs. Later, I can take Jay down to see how cute your puppies are."

With sighs and grumbles the girls started to move along. Many promises were made that the adults would be along soon to see the girl's animals.

"The Doc got them German Shepherd puppies for Christmas and gave them to them early. Good gift, better than last year. He got them choker necklaces. Amused the shit out of him to see them in what basically amounted to collars. He's always making jokes about our "pack" or "litter" really a jokester when he wants to be. Asshole."

"Yeah, a big one. Still he's your best friend."

"True enough."

"Do you mind my asking what is Mira Giovanni here about?"

"Hell if I know. Some sort of underworld BS is going on and she wanted to talk to Maria Grove, Marie Laveau and Nikki. It's something that must be dealt with in person or so they say."

"Might be something important then. One of our Castes deals with the ending of things. They tend to pay attention to the underworld. My sort deal with the things that make life worth living; relationships between people, the causes they devote themselves too that sort of thing."

"Sounds worth while. So you're wanting to stay and talk to me after the Giovanni leave? That might be a day or two. We have guest rooms available, so I guess it's alright."

"Yes, thank you. I appreciate this. I know it's short notice."

"Yeah, well, my house is everyone's house...apparently," Alex said, his annoyance for the near constant intrusion of the supernatural world literally being built into what he considered his home momentarily peeking through. His voice then softened and he smiled down at Odele. "Besides, It's not like you came here intending to crash. Far too often vampire and underworld BS ends up finding its way into our lives. You sort of have me curious, however, if your speciality is relationships why are you here for me?"

"Well, I don't think you've made it any secret you miss California and aren't super happy here in New Orleans. There are a lot of details but it's too much to get into right now. Nothing we have to get in a hurry over. You might say I've come to show you some possibilities, so you can open the doors to a brighter future."

Alex visualized the small man as a magical self help guru. With his manner, it seemed fitting. "Yeah, okay, we'll talk about it later. I'll find someone to show you where you can put your things for your stay."

As Alex departed, Don slipped up behind Jay. "You chickened out, didn't you?"

"They're busy. It's not a good time, Don. We'll start this in a day or two."

"The longer you wait the harder it will be. Spending time with his girls won't help either. It's just going to make things harder."

"I seriously doubt that, nothing could make this harder. This is painful as can be. I'm the wrong man for this job, Don. It's not the sort of thing I like doing."

"Maybe the fact you don't like doing it makes you the most sympathetic and thus best person to do so."

"You've been hanging out with us too much. You're starting to sound like a Sidereal."

"Clean break, Jay. An Endings Caste would make the cut clean and leave. You can at least set him on the right course to heal."

"Should have been two of us. An Endings Caste should have come done their part then sent me. I doubt he's going to want to take relationship advice from the same man who came to end his marriage."

* * *

Technocratic Research and Storage: Facility Eight

Mount Erebus, Antarctica

3:21 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Brandon had always been more academic than his friends. Kashi only read when forced to do so for school. Justin liked reading about sports. He was a beast at football trivia. Sam was a solid B+ student who picked up the occasional book for pleasure. Toshi was more into video games.

Brandon had loved reading as much as he loved sports. His elementary school librarian had seen his enthusiasm for the cinematic version of _The Lord of the Rings_. He liked the film and wondered about Bilbo's adventures that had set up the story from the film. Being an early reader, she gave him _The Hobbit_ in second grade. He'd devoured the Trilogy the next year.

In his head, despite the descriptions in text, or casting from the film, all the Hobbits had looked vaguely Asian like Kashi, while Gandalf and the wizards looked like himself. Boromir had looked like Justin. He had been a big fan of the casting for Arwen, daughter of Elrond. He had trouble even visualizing the character any other way. It was his love of this classic fantasy tale that leapt back into the forefront of his mind the second he set eyes on one of the Jadeborn.

When he first arrived he felt like his stomach was in his throat and his balls had drawn up into his ribcage. While he was trying to sort out his disorientation from the teleportation, Rayner had finished a quick few sentences with Dugan and turned to tell Brandon to stay put until a guide came to show him around.

He drank some cold water and had started to feel more himself when the doors opened and his guide arrived. She had told him her name was Alabaster Abstraction and that she was Jadeborn, a race that came from a similar lineage to humans. She offered to show him around.

Alabaster Abstraction had more than a passing resemblance to Liv Tyler. Her skin tone was the color of the ivory, like the stone she was named for. Her features were inhuman. They evoked comparison to elves: human enough to be familiar, but different enough to be exotic. As she took him out of the entry they began to explore the base.

The Jadeborn were everywhere. They all shared the same elegant lines and features, but at the same time were obviously different. Their skin colors were more exotic still. Like his friend Kashi, Brandon appreciated, and had made love to, every naturally occurring color of human woman. These however, were unlike any human. They ranged from white that was pale beyond Caucasian to a black that was a liquid obsidian; like night made manifest. Also among them were sandstone reds and tans, exotic greys and marbles that would have been at home on an Earth Manifested.

As they traveled the scale of the place became clear. Brandon marveled at the wonders of the city. The term storage facility made it sound like some tiny base with a couple hundred people. Which he supposed it was if you only counted the human technicians and will workers.

Two million Jadeborn had made it so much more. The facility was hundreds of thousands of four person barracks organized around cafeteria like mess halls, communal shower rooms, small workshops, commissaries and entertainment rooms that featured videos games, books and even internet (restricted to read only). Deeper in the facility was two to an apartment NCO quarters with private bathrooms and kitchenette, giving way to private officer suites that were small apartments.

He had to take care not to stare like a tourist at the base. He had to double that care not to seem a creep around his guide Alabaster Abstraction.

"You get a private suite like these. It's a real honor to be able to help you prepare for Exaltation," Abstraction said.

"Wasn't really expecting to be treated like an officer right off the bat. I haven't been with the organization for long."

"You did something impressive. The Fae are particularly difficult to deal with when you lack the proper equipment or techniques. Their reality warping techniques are strong but brittle. The right psionic powers or resistant materials are the recommended way to deal with them. To have cobbled together a response targeting their weakness so quickly was inspired."

"You know about all of that?" Brandon asked, his surprise apparent.

"Yes. It's in the file they sent on you. It was quite extensive. Your physical fitness received top marks and your mental acuity is high with notes about your creativity under high pressure scenarios. The Fae parade and the hemophage attack on Ladera Heights are particularly detailed."

"Well, that's good, I just, well sometimes I hope I'm not getting in over my head. Rayner seems to like me. I was hoping he wasn't fast tracking me into things I hadn't earned. You can get in hot water sometimes skipping steps. You end up finding holes in your fundamentals. Basic competency is worth more than a host of gimmicks," Brandon explained.

"I wouldn't worry. First, the Director hates it when people are promoted past their competency level, so he's not one to do it himself. Second, the ultimate judge of worthiness has already weighed in."

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, I'll show you," Alabaster Abstraction said, heading for another of the small lifts and trams that sped people around the base.

She lead him past a dizzying array of corridors and checkpoints to a room with an observation chamber overlooking a sphere of energy. It seemed to be a highly translucent energy shield. With in the sphere over a hundred insectile forms skittered buzzed and crawled. A group of Jadeborn lead by a human technician monitored the sphere. The human turned to see who had entered and sighed. "While it's only miniscule, the increased proximity does excite them, Abstraction," the technician lamented.

"He needs to see this. We won't be long," she replied.

"What are they?" Brandon marveled.

"Those are the Exaltations. Note the crystals in the middle. This form of empowerment has a physical rather than spiritual existence, however, it is still both physically and spiritually transformative. Those are, like all Exaltations, are hard coded into existence. They are completely indestructible and they were made to judge the worth of all beings in a wide vicinity. Upon finding a candidate worthy of their power, they seek them out and fuse with them. The host ceases to be a mundane human and becomes one of the Exalted. It is too bad we have so few here. The bulk, they say, are still kept at a secret storage site not on Earth."

"I take issue to how your talking, Abstraction," the technician said with a frown.

"He has clearance being on the prospective host list his approval is a sure thing given their extreme reaction to his presence in the base. They've been fighting to get out and get to you since you arrived," Abstraction explained.

"Not that. I know he's cleared, I take issue with your lexicon. The idea of spiritual transformation smacks of the superstition and mysticism," the technician said with an eye roll.

"They are approved language. Our God physically exists, his existence is not up for debate, nor is what he created," Abstraction said nodding to the sphere.

"I never said it was prohibited. I still take issue with it. It is not illegal to belch in public it is only ill mannered. Similarly, it's not against Technocratic orders to have a faith. It is still ill mannered to display it in public."

Brandon frowned. "If a few passing statements of faith get on your nerves, dude, I see why they had to send you here. That's hardly aggressive. My grandma would smack the back of my head enough to rattle my brains if I said Christ when something bad happened. She considered it blasphemy. Hell, we got people killing each other over how they should dress and what they should eat out there because of minor bits of dogma. So maybe chill out a bit."

"I'm not having this conversation. Please leave. These things are quite excited enough by your being in the base. Being in visual range is making our job at least a fraction harder."

"Come, Brandon, I have something else to show you," Abstraction said.

Once they were out in the hall Brandon snorted. "Punk. I'll bet he was sent here 'cause he couldn't hack it in the real world. You see people like that on campus sometimes. Sheltered lot not used to getting down and mixing it up. You go down to the real world, to the poor neighborhoods and markets, you'll see black Muslims, some Filipinos, two Persian guys and a Mormon all shouting at each other in three languages to argue with the same Baptist preacher about faith while haggling over how much their going to pay for fish."

"That sounds amazing. I wish I could see it. None of us have ever left the base, you know. We just glean what we can from the media. Thank you for sticking up for me. Most of the time we just have each other. All the humans here are highly placed Order agents."

"Yeah, I sort of get that. They're afraid they're outnumbered - at least here. Hundreds of thousands to one. They know if you were motivated, it would be hard to get you to follow the rules. You do so not because of their bullshit, but because you believe in the cause."

"How did you…? " Abstraction asked turning to look at Brandon.

"I might not know Jadeborn or more than the short story of this place, but human nature don't change much. That shit it's all pretty familiar to me."

"Come with me."

Brandon followed the Jadeborn curiously. They came to another chamber. Inside there was an observation deck overlooking an obstacle course. Mechanical obstructions, some sporting automated turrets and weapons, were attempting to stop an armor clad figure from making its way about the course.

The armor was black. It was not painted black, but rather light seemed to be pulled into the depths of the metal, never to return. The closest thing Brandon had seen was vantablack. He flinched as strange white wisps, insubstantial as smoke, seemed to appear floating in that metal blackness. They were shaped like alien faces far more inhuman than the Jadeborn.

The armored champion hacked apart a robot arm with a blade that extended from one of his forearms while snapping another robotic opponent's limbs with a well placed kick.

"That is what they call the Alpha Unit. He was the first. They tried binding the Exaltations by force to vat grown clone agents nearing mandatory reassignment," Abstraction began.

"Mandatory reassignment?" Brandon asked.

"The bulk of the Order's ground troops are clones grown to take up the hazards of combat against supernatural beings. Many are augmented. Some, like him originally, are not. It's easier for them to work undercover and avoid detection. When they reach an age where their bodies can't keep up with the demand, they are retired. Some become janitors, lab assistants, basic security guards, or other less demanding jobs. Eventually they're all sent to Autochthonia."

"Sorry for the derail."

"It's fine. The Exaltations didn't like being forced they...umm...ate the subjects," Alabaster Abstraction said, just realizing how bad this sounded.

"So they stopped doing it?" Brandon asked hopefully.

"Oh yes! Before stopping, however, there was one success: him. For whatever reason, his psyche, his soul if you will, was stronger. He became the first Alchemical Exalted."

"So that's what I'll become?"

"Roughly. There is six variations, each associated with a primary resonant material and even among like materials each is unique. Come let's go speak with him," Abstraction offered.

Brandon followed to the finish line of the course. The imposing figure spun and launched a flurry of knives at some pursuing drones before tucking to rolling over the finish line while presenting a small target.

"Agent Black this is Brandon Walker. He is director Rayner's personal pick to enter the program," Abstraction said presenting Brandon.

"Umm...hi. Any tips for me?" Brandon asked.

"Yeah," an electronically filtered voice answered.

The armor started to move. It was so dark it was hard to see the true outline and follow how it was moving. It was obvious that it was not conserving its later the full suit vanished from sight there stood a naked Caucasian man with a bulky build, similar to Brandon's friend Justin. He was shorter than Justin, however, and if anything, more solid, though less muscle showed. He had mass like a powerlifter to Justin's bodybuilder. He was clean shaven with dark hair in a buzz cut.

"Don't bother me 'til I have finished my shower," he said, finishing his earlier thought. The electronic filtering gone his voice was a deep bass rumble.

"Fair enough," Brandon replied, somewhat nonplussed.

The agent stopped and gave Brandon an evaluating look up and down.

"Have him run the course at level two," the agent said to Abstraction.

"What? no! Absolutely not. He has no advanced training. It would be against regulations to even let him try," Abstraction spat out in a surprised fluster.

"What is the difference between one and two?" Brandon asked.

"One is for wussies," the agent replied.

"I'm not a wimp. I'm also not a fool to be goaded into doing something that I know nothing about. Sometimes you have to trust another teammate or coach to make an evaluation. In your honest evaluation, agent, who is going to be my future teammate, is running this course at level two something I'm capable of?" Brandon asked.

"You asked all the right questions. Showed the right spirit too. You could, with the right gear, with only slight risk of injury. If you got in trouble, I'd have helped you," the agent said.

"Fair enough," Brandon replied

The agent's wrist shimmered as a watch like data pad appeared on it. He looked at it and grunted to himself in an accepting way. "We're running low on time. Run it later with AA here monitoring. Do it at at level one you won't have me as a safety net. I'll leave you the list of gear to use. You have potential. Don't screw it up," he said to Brandon in a distracted tone.

Agent Black headed away into the shower room. As he did so, the doors behind Brandon and Alabaster Abstraction opened. John Dugan peered out. "Recruit Walker? I'm surprised to see you down here."

"I took him to see the Alpha Unit in action. Agent Black gave him some suggestions for training. I find them questionable, however," Abstraction reported in a very official tone.

"Really?" John asked as he checked something on his pad.

"I think he was fucking with me first trying to get me hurt. The advice was probably a peace offering," Brandon speculated.

"Sounds almost warm coming from him. That sort of thing is about as friendly as he gets," Dugan said.

"That's fine by me. I'm not like my friend Kashi. I don't have to make everybody my friend so long as they can act like they're part of the team."

"I'll take him to his quarters and help him settle in. Abstraction, check to see the items and personnel the Director is taking with him are secure for transport. I am going to assume Black has already received the Director's ordered to mobilize," Dugan said.

Abstraction nodded. "Yes sir," she said with a salute. "I'll see you later then, recruit," she told Brandon in a warmer much less official tone.

As he lead Brandon away Dugan spoke."So, your friend has self esteem issues? Most people who have a deep need for acceptance do. Doesn't really sound like his Grandfather. The Old Man couldn't care less about what people think of him."

"I don't know if I'd call it self esteem issues. More like shock that he can't win them over. Dudes got some serious charisma going. Pretty much everyone either likes the goofy bastard or hates him. Complete loathing is pretty much the only sure insulator against someone with charisma like that," Brandon reflected, thinking about Kashi.

"Now that IS like the Old Man. Most people either think he's the best hope for our future or think he's going to get us all killed," Dugan jested.

"So which are you?" Brandon asked.

To his surprise Dugan went quiet for sometime, as they stepped into the lift he broke the silence.

"I'm no longer sure they're mutually exclusive," Dugan said in a faintly worried tone.


	3. Chapter 3

405 Freeway From Brentwood

Los Angeles California.

4:07 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Sayuri sped down the 405 freeway. Gripping the steering wheel of her BMW tightly, she drove erratically, weaving in and out of traffic at a high rate of speed. She was distracted and driving so fast she almost missed the exit to take her to Inglewood. In her desperation to see Kashi she drove faster and more aggressively than she'd ever done before.

She was still in a daze when she reached Kashi's house. She sat in her car and stared at the blue and white BMW roundel emblazoned on her steering wheel. Her stomach churned when she realized she had no memory of the drive. The only thing she could remember was her father's ultimatum. It ran through her mind as if on repeat. She took a few deep breaths to try to calm herself. She did not want Kashi to see her in such a state. Not today. Not with what she had decided.

She took one last breath and exited the vehicle. It was only then that she noticed Willow standing in the doorway looking at her with concern. "Hey," was all the greeting Sayuri could muster.

"Are you okay? You look like you want to murder someone," Willow asked, eyeing Sayuri. Willow was somewhat envious of Sayuri's beauty. She was of biracial Asian descent, like Kashi and Willow, but she favored her Caucasian heritage much more than Willow and even Kashi. She had shoulder length brown hair and green eyes. She was curvaceous, but not excessively so and was dressed in an upscale dress that was cut is a slightly more risque fashion than she normally wore to show off said curves. However, it was still appropriate for the mild, but occasionally chilly Southern California winter. It was obvious to Willow's keen eye that she had taken great care with her makeup, but that made sense. Afterall, she and Kashi were going out on a date. Kashi, on the other hand, hadn't even bothered to change yet. That was typical Willow thought to herself.

"Almost. You don't look that great yourself. Did your musical wipe you out?"

"Not quite. I went out for pizza with the cast and a clique of the popular girls. It was so much fun."

"Really? Well, that's good," Sayuri said, brightening slightly.

"The best part was watching Grace try to swallow her tongue all night while Kimmy and me were treated like part of the in crowd."

"Willow!"

"Oh, I never said anything mean to her. It was even better than way. If she'd done anything catty or mean, she'd have been the bad guy. She had no outlet for her venom. She just had to swallow her own poison and like it. Just like you said, hate is self destructive."

"That is _not_ why I taught you that," Sayuri frowned.

"Oh come on, Sayuri! After enduring an entire middle school of hell, I can have one night of basking in a little _Schadenfreude_."

Sayuri sighed. She'd worry about this later. "Where's Kashi? I really need to talk to him."

"Taking the garbage out. It was full. He's coming back in now. I hear the back door," Willow said, jerking her head in the direction of the kitchen.

"Kashi! Is that you?" Sayuri called out stepping into the kitchen

"Yeah just give me a minute! I need to wash my hands," he said from the kitchen sink.

Sayuri took the opportunity to ask Willow a favor. "Hey, um, I have some important stuff... you know private stuff to talk about. Can you give us some space?"

Willow nodded. "Yeah, sure. I'll be upstairs brushing my teeth. I'm pretty tired, so I'll likely take a nap when you leave anyhow." With that, the small girl was gone.

Sayuri sat down at the kitchen table. She watched Kashi busying himself at the sink. He was so handsome to her with his sunkissed tan skin and golden, sandy-blonde hair. She loved his hair. It was so thick and wild. Its disheveled appearance was like a mane. He turned around. He was wearing a UCLA blue sleeveless hoodie trimmed with gold. It showed off his well developed pectorals and muscular arms. With his hoodie he wore the matching athletic shorts that also left little to the imagination when it came to other well developed portions of his anatomy.

His blue eyes lit up when he saw her. "God, you look beautiful," he said without hesitation. He flashed his big, goofy smile. That smile melted her. It almost washed all her worries away. However, his smiled dimmed slightly when he saw her face.

"Hey, what's wrong? You look like you need some pie and kindly words from Nana," he said playfully as he sat down across from her. He took her hand in his. She could feel the rough calluses on his hands. His touch was warm. It was always warm, like the sun.

She couldn't look at his face and stared at their intertwined hands on the table. "It's my father. He...he knows we're dating. I wasn't keeping it a secret, I just never really saw any need to share it with him. I never dated much and so we never had any ground rules for me letting him know." She finally looked up as she finished. "Most of my teen years I was hanging out with Reiko."

Kashi nodded seriously, the smile draining from his face. His own encounter earlier today came flooding back to him. "I take it he knows about my...uh...my reputation? He thinks I'm trying to use you?"

"Sort of. That's how it began. He started out lecturing me about 'boys like you.' Before I could get a word in and correct him, it got bad."

"It wasn't bad already?"

"Oh, no. It gets much worse. First, he gave me a 'my house my rules' speech and outright forbid me from seeing you."

"Jesus," Kashi said in shock.

"It's not just your reputation. It's your social standing. My father doesn't think the son of a single mother from Inglewood is good enough for someone who lives in Brentwood." Her voice twisting to match her face as she wrestled with the loathsome thought. "He then told me that he was going to call our relatives in Japan, the ones we're going to fly out to see over the holidays...and have them find some nice 'acceptable' boys I could date," she said.

Kashi blinked a few times in shock. "He did what?"

"He offered to fix me up with someone he'd find acceptable, like I was some prize horse he planned on breeding!" Sayuri spat in fury.

"Wow...just wow," Kashi said. He did not know what to say, but recovered quickly. He pressed forward tentatively. "What did you say?"

"I told him I was moving out."

"You did what?" Kashi said aghast. "Can you do that? I mean, I _know_ you can do that, it's just...things are expensive, Sayuri. I didn't even do campus housing because of how much cheaper it is to live at home."

"It's a matter of principle. I can't stay. It'll work out. Reiko has been pestering me to move in with her. She's looking for a place to live. Dad can't cut my college funding. It's paid for by a trust. I doubt he'd go that far anyway."

"I can't help but feel this is my fault. If I hadn't slept around, maybe he'd be more accepting of me."

"It's not that, Kashi. He always hated that his sister married Reiko's dad because he owned a car salvage yard. It didn't matter that my uncle deals in high dollar cars and is nearly as well off as dad. It's about appearances."

"Yeah okay…. I just kinda got hit with how some people used to view me when I went back to the old school today," he said as he looked down at the table and then back up at Sayuri.

"No, it's not you, really, it's my dad being classist. In a way, I should thank him. His ultimatum lead me to some pretty important realizations."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, when he started talking about me seeing someone else, it made me realize I don't want to see anyone else. I want you."

Kashi's eyes widened. "You sound like you mean you don't _ever_ want anyone else."

"That is exactly what I mean. I'm not saying let's elope or anything, but I can see myself spending my life with you. I can't picture that with anyone else."

Kashi's smile returned. "Sayuri, I feel the same way. When I'm with you, I feel like I'm a better person. Like, I don't know, it's like I'm stronger inside because of you."

"That's sweet, Kashi, but you're already a good person. You didn't need me for that."

The pair stood up to embrace. "If I was good before, I'm great now. Maybe Jay Odele was right. Maybe we're meant to be," he said.

Sayuri smiled and looked up at Kashi. She leaned in close and their lips met in a kiss. When the kiss broke, Kashi felt like he knew what he should do. The moment was right. He began to fish around in his pocket for the ring Nana Johnson had given him.

"Sayuri, I know we both have school, but as Nana told me today..."

He was interrupted by a shrill scream from Willow. "Kashi! Come quick!"

Kashi looked up at the ceiling and rolled his eyes. "Not _**NOW**_ ," he bellowed. But the moment was ruined and he knew it.

"Someone is stealing your bike!"

He immediately switched gears. "The hell they are!" He said as he disentangled from Sayuri and rushed to the front door.

In the front yard a pickup with a bike trailer had pulled up. Two men were rolling the bike onto the trailer. Sayuri raced behind Kashi pulling her pepper spray from her purse. Willow trailed behind holding out her phone to record what was happening. If the thieves ran, she'd have video of them.

"What the hell do you think you're doing with my bike?" Kashi shouted.

"Your bike? Title still has my name on it," one of the men said with derision. He turned and Kashi came to a complete stop.

"Sayuri call the cops. There's an escaped convict out here," Kashi said with a snarl.

"Ex-con now, boy. The state of California and I are square. Smokey, keep loading the bike. Me and my boy need to talk," Jin Kimura said. He had a rough, gruff voice and, despite being native Japanese, there was not a trace of an accent when he spoke.

Sayuri stared at the man before her. She had heard so much about Kashi's father; and not much of that was good. She had only ever seen him pictures. In person, it was clear that he and Kashi were father and son.

Jin was built for speed like Kashi. However, Jin was more muscular, despite Kashi already being well muscled from his high school and collegiate sports career. They even had similar taste in clothes as Jin wore a dark grey sleeveless wife beater and jeans. However, unlike Kashi, every inch of Jin's arms and visible chest were inked. They even stood the same, eyeing each other warily. It was almost as if Kashi was looking at a mirror, posture wise.

Where they differed the most was the face. Jin's face was more square and his brow was heavier. He had deeper set eyes than Kashi. While the younger Kimura usually radiated an easygoing warmth from his normally smiling face, his father smoldered with scorching fury and anger. It was an anger that was not directed at a person, but at existence itself. He wore an expression of disdain for life. It was an expression of a man whose disappointment had soured to rage.

Unable to help herself, Sayuri's eyes cut a glance toward Willow. The girl looked nothing like Jin. The youngest Kimura stared at the tattooed man with an odd look on her face Sayuri couldn't place. But it was only a moment before Kashi's voice brought her out of her reverie.

"What makes you think I want to listen to anything you say, old man?" Kashi asked coldly.

"Because there's a whole lot you don't know, boy. Things you're gonna to have to know to survive," Jin said with his own grim scowl.

"Survive?" Kashi rolled his eyes. "Don't be overdramatic. I know about the Kimuras being Kinfolk. I know you killed some sort of spirit, not Officer Madigan. I know you traded your future with your son to impress a bunch of gang-thugs because they were more important to you than I was."

"Then you don't know shit. Half truths and lies. You done heard what your mom did to me. She opened her legs for a few quick bucks all while shitting on me for selling guns and running numbers for the Wolves."

"She didn't! She says you and her...did it...after a big fight. Officer Madigan brought her home from the diner. You don't remember because you were drunk."

"Boy, I ain't never been that drunk. Anyone that drunk would be lucky to get it up. Every time I've woke up hungover, I've known what I did the night before. I remember this because there's not much that I regret doing in my life and what happened that night is one of them." The elder man said. He stopped for a moment and his nostrils flared as he fought to control his temper.

"I thought Banyan had been talking to the cops. I didn't know what she'd really done. I left and called Smokey from the corner store. I had a meeting with some of the boys to do damage control to try to figure out what she knew and what she might have said. They decided if she had talked, she didn't know enough to be dangerous. They'd cut me out of the loop for a time which meant no illegal work for the Wolves nothing even too grey for a while. We also talked about if I was going to stay or go. One thing made me go back, boy. The look on your face everytime your mom had to go to work. I was pretty sure I didn't love that woman anymore, but you did and I wanted to do right by you. My own daddy died a hero and a martyr...at least to some. He was a damn fool to others. Sometimes, I hated him for dying and wanted to punch the ones who bragged on his charging into death. Sometimes, I hated those who said he'd been a fool to get himself killed. Mostly, though, I missed the hell out of him. I never wanted that for you, son. I wanted to be there, but a hard fact is, we don't always get what we want."

"Why? Why they hell not, old man! You had a choice! Even if you thought mom cheated, you could have gotten a divorce, got custody, left the gang, manned up, crawled out of the bottle and gone back to honest work," Kashi spat.

"It's not that easy, boy! When your momma told me she was knocked up...when she followed it with that damn lie that her child was mine...I wanted to kill her. It was the only time I ever hit her. One slap. I knew then, I couldn't be around her. After losing control like that, I knew we couldn't be near each other. Not even for you. She grabbed you up and ran to that old busy body Johnson. I just stood there stunned and realized what was about to happen: she'd get pictures, then she'd get Madigan to go into court and say I was a person of interest in some of his investigations. The judge would take one look at me and I'd never see my boy...see you...again."

His voice dropped off as if reliving the pain of it again cut his soul. "I had fucked it all up real good. I'd be damned if that was the end of the fight. I wasn't no quitter then and I'm not now. I knew a few things. Not about the Wolves, but about their enemies. I could go with that and maybe more if the Wolves would give me more. Once I leaked like that, my line to the gang would be cut. You can't be seen helping a squealer, even one who did alright by you. If I was willing to pay the price: lose the gang, no protection, no friends I might be able to sell out to the law and get Sean Madigan on my side. I was ready, boy. I was ready to give it all up for you 'cause you're my boy. Then that dumb Irish son of a bitch had to go and get murdered right in front of me."

Kashi's eyes went wide. "Wait, you what?"

Jin's eyes hardened. "The others, you know the REAL wolves, talk about the rage. I felt it. I felt it like I was born to it. As they are pure and clean, this corrupt sack of shit hadn't just killed a man who wasn't part of his war, that rotten husk had taken my boy. I saw one of the big men go down. I saw his blade drop and I just grabbed it. They had taken my one shot at getting you back and then, in that moment, that was when I raged and for that brief moment in time, all the pain was gone, all the torment of watching things with Banny go sour, of watching dead end jobs dry up, of hating myself for not doing better, and all the pain of knowing I wasn't going to be there for you, it all burned away in clean white hot flame. It devoured me and I became an instrument of wrath. God damn was I surprised when It ended and I was still alive.

"I remember laughing. Everyone was looking at me like I'd lost my mind. Hell, I guess maybe I did, but it all seemed so fucking ridiculous all that fighting not to be like my old man and the only way I was different was I was going to live through not being there. My answer was clear then. A dead cop wasn't a thing that would be forgiven. Someone would have to pay or the pigs would keep coming. So knowing I was facing a battle I couldn't win, not now that that Irish prick was dead, I went from the raging wolf to the sacrificial lamb."

Smokey stepped back over. He'd finished loading the bike. He handed Kashi a storage clipboard.

"What the hell is this?" Kashi asked.

"When I was sent to prison, I took the fall for the gang. When you do that, you keep your benefits and they promoted me to Sergeant at Arms for taking the fall for such high placed wolves. I wanted to make sure you were taken care of, so Smokey and the boys came a month later and offered Bany my wages just as I told them too. I wanted to be sure you were taken care of."

Smokey rubbed his eye with one hand and in the scratchiest rumble of a voice said "She said she didn't want nothing from us. Even if you both starved, she said it was blood money. We never could get her to take it. She's the stubbornest thing. Your daddy said it was your money, so we invested it in your name."

Kashi passed the notebook to Sayuri without even looking at it. "So, it's back child support for ages five to eighteen and you're taking your bike back. I guess that makes us even then. Money wise anyhow."

"God damn it boy, I tried."

Kashi breathed deeply and looked to the sky. The final rays of light were dying through the trees and the shadows from the houses and trees draped everything in a psudeonight; a precurser of what was to follow. His peace made with the situation, Kashi dropped a hard level gaze at his father and set his jaw. "No. You tried at the very end," he said more in exasperation than in anger. "Damn it, old man, you didn't have to wait 'til you were at the edge of the abyss to start making an effort! If you had done anything sooner, put any effort into anything before it was a last ditch effort, it might have worked. You didn't lose because everything was against you. You lost because you didn't really start trying 'til you had no other options."

Kashi began to lose himself. His visage became a little more frightening and, though it might have been a trick of the night, Jin thought he felt an oppressive weight in the air itself bearing down on him. "Christ, old man, for years I've wanted to knock your block off. I still sorta want to, but don't think this makes anything right. You're no hero. You're a damn fool who didn't fight for what he wanted 'til he saw it already was lost."

With great effort, Kashi gained control of himself. "Shit, it's Christmas. Just take your bike and go. It's what you're best at. Me and My girlfriend have a date and we've been talking about our future. I don't need you jinxing it up. I can promise you this, I'll do a damn site better than you."

Jin laughed grimly. "I should deck you one, but since you brought baby Jesus into this, I'll forgive you for him. Just remember, boy, I made that same damn promise on my old man's grave."

Kashi took Sayuri's hand and walked back into the house. Kashi was determined not to look back while Sayuri was distracted looking at the documents in the metal case. Neither noticed Willow had not gone back inside. She had moved to stand by the front of the pick up. She took a hesitant step forward.

"Girl, I don't know you," Jin said, without looking at her.

"You could. Even if we're not blood, I think I understand what you were saying more than Kashi. If everything you've said is true, I don't have a father," Willow said, her harlequin green eyes glittering with unshed tears.

"You look too much like your mother. I don't need that reminder, and I don't need the baggage that comes with claiming you as an adoptee. Besides, you have a father out there. He's at some truck stop or another. Maybe you'll find him one day," Jin said as he turned and jumped into the cab. "Let's go, Smokey." With that Smokey cranked the truck and they rolled off into the night.

Willow wiped her face to rid herself of the unshed tears. She stood in the yard as the street lights slowly came on. She was mentally composing herself before she turned and made her way back inside. As she walked into the house, she saw Sayuri had dumped the storage clipboard's contents onto the coffee table. She was sorting through it all.

Kashi was sitting beside her on the sofa. He jumped up and hurried to Willow's side. "I didn't know you were still out there. Did he say something to you?"

Willow shook her head. "It's fine. He just said that I wasn't his daughter. He wasn't even really mean about it. He just sort of doesn't care," she said numbly.

"Hey, don't let him get to you. I'm not so sure Mom isn't right. Arrogant prick would never admit it if he was wrong," Kashi said, scowling.

"I never got my hopes up he was going to be a good dad it's just...it feels like when you've had a tooth pulled. It's not painful, there's just an empty spot. I know I probably shouldn't dwell on it, but there it is," Willow said, reflecting on her own mood.

"He's just an asshole, Willow. You're still my sister."

"Well...I'd still be your sister even, if he isn't my dad."

"Yeah, like Nana! Even if we're not really related, we'd still be like family," Kashi said supportively.

Willow's face twisted in disbelief. "No, Kashi! We still have the same mother!"

"He's making you mad to pull you out of the dumps, Willow," Sayuri said distractedly as she leafed through papers.

Willow eyed Kashi supricously. She was unsure if her brother was capable of such subterfuge. With a goofy grin, he mussed her hair in the way he often did. A way she found very aggravating but for once didn't mind.

"Alright, well, even if Jin isn't my father, he gave me a pretty alright big brother. I guess," Willow admitted, giving Kashi a hug.

"Aww! Willow! Thanks! That wasn't mean or snide at all," Kashi said returning the hug. He pulled Willow up off her feet and held her in a tight embrace.

Sayuri interrupted the siblings. "They paid Jin sixty thousand dollars a year for thirteen years, Kashi."

"Wow okay, that's like, over half a million! That's a lot of money," Kashi calculated, rounding very roughly in his head. He never was much of a math wiz. He shifted Willow's weight a bit to make it easier to hold her up. For once, she didn't seem keen to disentangle herself from her big brother. She put her cheek on his shoulder and suddenly remembered how tired she was.

"It's 780 thousand. If it was in the bank, you'd be getting interest," Willow informed him while trying to wriggle into a position that was more comfortable while Kashi held her tight.

"True, but they didn't just toss it in the bank. They invested it. They invested rather _well._ They beat the mutual fund average. It looks like they had about a 15% growth rate, so you have..." Sayuri said fishing for a calculator to add up things from across pages.

"2.4 Million," Willow said instantly, doing the math in her head. She was a human calculator, unlike her brother.

Kashi gaped. In his shock, his arms went slack and Willow dropped to the floor.

"OW!" Willow said as she hit the floor. As her legs were unprepared to hold her up she ended up on her rump.

"Oh, sorry, squirt!" He then reached down to help Willow up, but he kept his eyes on Sayuri. "Is she right? Is that how much its all worth?"

"And some change, yeah. Most of it is not liquid. It's in shares of stock or commodities, investments you'd have to sell. Kashi, you own a little part of MSI's parent company PSI."

"Wow! That's awesome. And I was worried if it would be enough to get some new wheels. With Jet taking back the bike, I don't have transportation. Well, the way I figure this, Willow, this is child support. Half of all that is yours," Kashi said firmly.

"But- he said I wasn't his. It's probably true. I'm nothing like him," Willow said flustered with surprise at her brother's generosity.

"Child support, alimony, whatever you want to call it Mom should have taken this and not worked so hard. She'd have been home more for both of us so both of us should benefit."

"But if Dad...I mean Jin finds out..." Willow began in a worried tone.

"I don't give a rat's ass. He gave it to me it's mine to do with what I feel is right. If he doesn't like it he can take a hike. Oh wait, he already did. So screw him," Kashi spat.

"Even with Willow getting half, 1.2 million is both a lot and not a lot of money," Sayuri said, reflecting.

"Yeah I guess it goes back to what I said things are expensive. It's not 'never gonna work again' money. I can finish school even if my scholarship dries up. Seed money for a business maybe a restaurant. I've watched how Carl Martin, mom's old boss, ran his so I know how _not_ to run one," Kashi said.

"Mr. Goya is looking for investors. He was asking me about my dad when I dropped in on you helping him clean out his storage room," Sayuri said.

"Nana owns all this rental property. She'd never say it, but she doesn't get around as well as she used to. You could buy in so she didn't feel like she was asking for help just giving her business partner a share of the work." Willow mused

"We can look into them all for now we can leave it put if it's invested well it will just keep growing. I'll cash out some to get some sort of transportation and maybe set up a small allowance for both of us. Gas and food money for me computer junk fund for you." Kashi said nodding to himself.

Sayuri shook her head. A realization coming to her. "Kashi we have to get you something to drive before school starts back. You cannot get around L.A. without transportation."

"Yeah, I know. This is all really important, but most important to me is that we had a date and I didn't even ask if you're still going to Japan tomorrow. I know you and your dad are fighting but you don't get to see your Japanese relatives often, earlier this week you were really excited to go see them," Kashi asked.

"I think so. If things stay tense I'll swap seats with someone," Sayuri said.

"Okay then! This money won't go away while you're gone. Me, Willow, Nana and even Mom if she can avoid getting preachy, will decide what to do with it. We can kick some ideas around while you are gone. Then, you can weigh in when you get back. For now, let's enjoy what remains of our date," Kashi said, brimming with excitement.

"Kashi, it's your money. You don't need me to tell you what to do with it," Sayuri said with a shake of her head.

"Well, I think of it more as money for our future," Kashi said in a more subdued tone.

Sayuri's eyes widened in surprise.

"You said it. I don't want to be with anyone else and I can't think of a future that doesn't have you in it," he said, extending a hand to help Sayuri up from the sofa.

"You two are going to give me diabetes. I'll be upstairs," Willow groaned as she rolled her eyes.

"Stay a sec, squirt. You can lock up after us. We need to get moving. I'd planned on changing, but I'm not feeling like wearing anything fancy and after all...well this…," he gestured vaguely all around him, "I'm really hungry," he said, putting his hand over his belly.

Sayuri smiled. "I understand. I'll just be a little overdressed. Maybe we can go look at some cars after we eat give you some ideas," she said on her way to the door.

"You guys have fun. I hope your trip goes okay, Sayuri. I'll see you when you get back. Kashi, I'll probably get up at 11 to wait on my birthday," Willow said while closing the door.

"Do you get up to wait on your birth hour every year?" Sayuri asked, amused.

"For as long as I can remember. Which is pretty far," the small girl said.

"Oh, wait! Here! Don't open it until tomorrow!" Sayuri said, pulling a small wrapped box from her purse.

"Oh you shouldn't have," Willow smiled, leaning out the door to give Sayuri a hug.

Kashi shook his head. "Interrupting your sleep is bad for you! You won't grow up big and strong like me!" He flexed his bicep for emphasis while Sayuri laughed at him. He then kissed her again and the pair walked arm in arm to Sayuri's car. Kashi, rather gallantly opened the passenger door for his girlfriend before she playfully pushed him in the passenger side door and hopped over to the driver's side. She gave one last wave to Willow before the pair sped off.

"Bye!" Willow called while she rolled her eyes and closed the door. Kashi had no idea she almost never slept through the night. She got some of her best work done when she got up in the middle of the night.

* * *

Manifested Services Compound

4:48 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Kai was not happy. When he was unhappy, he often retreated to his den to reflect and work out his feelings As such, he stood near the mantle while a fire slowly died in the fireplace. The reason for his unhappiness was simple: he was late for his trip to Austria. However, that unhappiness underscored a deeper, more complex issue with his ever growing extended family.

One of the things he had bonded over with that family, namely the women whom he had helped rescue from the Sabbat, was an enthusiasm for Christmas. They loved the holiday season due to largely Catholic upbringing. Kai joked they had only adopted Christmas. His people had invented it and while Kai did not consider himself Christian, he felt no animosity over the Church adopting Germanic festivities and applying it to the celebration of their Messiah's birth.

That adoption had seen Germanic traditions and pageantry spread all over the world. He knew the history of each ritual and custom from its ancient pagan roots to its Christian retooling to its modern secular and commercial interpretation. It was something of a hobby.

His first Christmas after the Dragon-Blooded had been freed, however, stood out in his mind. He had attended an enormous multi-family gathering with many of the women he had helped rescue. It was held in Mexico and lasted from Christmas Eve to the 6th of January which the ladies and their families celebrated as 'Three Kings Day,' or the Feast of the Epiphany.

He had spent last Christmas in Great Britain with the Earl of Windham and his pack of werewolves so he could spend time with his illegitimate son, Kailam (whom he sired well before he exalted and was unknown to Kai until Terra's genealogy research uncovered his existence).

This year was meant to be a time for his immediate family; for he, Terra, Summer and the quadruplets to lay down what he hoped would become their own holiday traditions.

He had booked a flight to his old family home. First class comercial so as not to monopolize the company plane. Valentina and the others would be taking it to Mexico he knew.

They had been in San Francisco, ready to board when Valentina called them in a panic. Bastian had taken very ill. It was rare as it was for one of the children of the Dragon-Blooded to even get sick, let alone so violently.

While Kai did not begrudge cancelling the flight to see to his and Valentina's son's illness; he was just as worried about Bastian as his mother, Kai was in an uncustomarily glum mood. He had a feeling something was off, as if fate was conspiring to destroy his holiday. Even he thought he was being overdramatic, but still, the feeling remained.

Perhaps it was that he unable to help Terra? Maybe that was why he was in such a funk. He did not like feeling impotent and helpless. He had tried to help, but Terra had accused him of 'hovering.' Whatever that was. So, he retreated to his den to think his thoughts.

Still morose, he took a long pull on the beer he had poured for himself as he pondered his favorite icon of his patron god. It was taken from a larger work: _Götterdämmerung_. The Twilight of the Gods. In Norse mythology, each god had a fated adversary. A sort of fated pairing that contrasted warring ideals.

His eyes flickered to some of the carvings depicting other deities. To Heimdall and Loki's battle he felt no strong pull to either side. In his life he had been the watcher and trickster.

In turn, Odin's duel with the Fenris Wolf, Fenrir, left him cold. Odin was very much a Death God, no matter what revisionists tried to say, and Fenrir was the wild incarnate. Life and struggle overcame death. Tyr the God of Justice had lied, turning on his own principles to restrain it, even temporarily.

The clash of Frey and Surtur had not interested him in his youth. What fool would give up a weapon that was his only hope in battle for a woman's love? He had a greater appreciation for that conundrum now.

No, none of them had stoked his youthful admiration. Of the pairings of adversaries, only one had struck the deepest chord with him. His god stood here on the center panel. Thor, friend of man. He fought what Kai saw as the greatest threat: the Serpent That Strangled the World.

While werewolf lore would equate the world serpent with their arch adversary, the Wyrm, Kai saw a different symbolism. The _Jörmungandr_ constricted the world in its coils.

To Kai, it was a symbol for confinement; physical, mental and spiritual. Conformity, when forced, was binding to the spirit. Dogma, be it religious or social, was confining to the mind. The overly burdensome regulations and governmental tracking now imposed on the Dragon-Blooded were imprisoning to the body.

The _Jörmungandr_ had only grown in his mind. It was, he felt, the icon for all the worst challenges the Dragon-Blooded faced. His feeling of loathing for it had grown alongside it.

His fingers touched the carved Thor. The god held his hammer back ready to strike the first of three blows. By legend the blows would kill the Serpent at great cost. The Serpent had venom as well as constricting coils. Thor would take three steps then fall down dead.

His sacrifice would see others safe so that they could start anew, namely his own sons Magni and Modi. This more than anything, resonated with Kai. From the first he learned of Summer's conception, he had vowed no child of his would be a victim. He would see a world where they were free, regardless of the cost.

"Are you _that_ depressed we're going to be late to Austria?" Terra's voice called from the door behind him, interrupting his thoughts.

"I am just worried. So, I plan for problems I can deal with to distract from ones I cannot. How do you know I am troubled, my wife? Am I so transparent?"

"Only to a few who know you well enough. You only stare at that Wagnerian eyesore when you're feeling low," Terra childed her husband.

Kai turned to face his wife. "You believe in an eclectic mix of Buddhism, Indonesian paganism and Islamic proverbs. Some of your own icons are equally strange to me," he said with a shake of his head.

"Oh, I don't criticize it's spiritual value, only it's aesthetic one," Terra said, with a soft smile. Her words were light, but Kai could tell something was bothering her.

"What is it? If you are here, I must assume that Bastian is recovering?" Kai asked tentatively.

"Yes, but that's not why I'm here. I need you to talk to _your_ daughter."

"Interesting that she is _our_ daughter when she is well behaved, but suddenly becomes _my_ daughter when she has misbehaved. What has she done to be my daughter rather than our daughter?" Kai inquired dryly.

"I need her to be your daughter right now. I can't deal with this. It has me too worked up emotionally. I think you can deal with the discipline while staying calm," Terra admitted. She then closed the gap between her and Kai and hugged him.

Kai was momentarily stunned before he returned her hug. "What has she possibly done that has you so worked up, my wife?"

* * *

Summer sat in her room on her bed looking at her hands. This was not what she had wanted. Nothing seemed to be as she wanted it. She was not sure what she was going to do. She was not sure what she could do.

Nearly sick with dread, her young mind tried to envision the repercussion of what had happened. She knew she was in trouble. Like most small children, she had limited experience of the world at large and a highly active imagination. With these factors working together, her imagination ran wild. She dreamed up countless scenarios in her mind, ranging from the melodramatic and unlikely to the unrealistic and bizarre.

Her run away, fearful imagination snaped to a abrupt halt as her door quietly opened. She was expecting her mother but it was Papa who stood there. Rather than relief, another nauseating wave of dread assaulted her. For the first time in her life she had a moment of panic when thinking about how very, very large her father was.

Kai frowned at his daugher. "Summer Rain Silbern have you ever lied to your Papa?"

An involuntary shiver went through the small girl. "No, Papa."

"What has Papa told you about lies?" Kai prodded.

"That when you lie you hurt yourself. Because no one will ever believe you again," Summer said, sniffing.

"Then this is very important, Summer. You have done a very bad thing. You will tell Papa about the very bad thing you did. You will not lie to Papa. Once this is finished, we will deal with what you have done. If you feel shame at what you did, this is good, but do not lie. Face what you did. You must confront your mistake before you do anything else."

"I...um...I thought I heard noises when I was in Bastian's room...under the chest-o-drawers," Summer began.

Kai slapped his huge hands together. The loud bang disrupted the little girls thoughts. She jumped and then leaned back from her father's shadow. "I have never hit you. Hitting is a poor teacher. Your mother has only hit you once when she slapped your arm. Why did she slap your arm?"

"Because I was going to put a pin into the electric socket," Summer gasped.

"What would have happened if you did that?"

"It would hurt. Hurt worse than the slap."

"I just scared you because you were going to do something even scarier than Papa being angry and not being able to trust you. Do you know what that is?"

"No, Papa," Summer said, confused.

Kai stepped forward and reached out to the bedside table. His massive hand enveloped the box of facial tissue and pulled it over to him. He then sat, cross legged, beside his daughter's bed. He pulled out a tissue and cleaned the tears from his child's face then wiped her runny nose. "There is something even more important than telling the truth to Papa. You must always tell the truth to yourself, Summer. If you cannot trust yourself, if you cannot believe what you say in here..."

"...then I can't tell anyone else the truth. If I can't trust me no one else can trust me," Summer finished. She had heard her father say that many times.

"If it helps, start with the hardest part. Summer, what did you do? Then you can find where you started to lie to yourself," Kai instructed.

"I made Bastian sick," Summer admitted.

"How did you do this thing?"

"I opened the cupboards under the sink in the washroom and got the poison that kills rats. I know I'm not supposed to but..."

"Stop. We will deal with that later. One thing at a time. You took the poison for rats that looks like small blocks of peanut butter. What did you do next?"

"I put them into a baggie."

"What sort of baggie, Summer?"

"The sort you put snacks in."

"Was this a clean baggie?"

"No it...it was one Bastian had stolen from the kitchen."

"What did it have in it?"

"Some pieces of Miss Angel's peanut butter fudge."

"So, you put the pieces of poison in with Bastian's stolen snacks and then you put the baggie back under his chest of drawers where he hides his pilfered treats."

"Yes."

"Why did you do this? Why did you want your little brother to get sick," Kai asked, wiping his daughter's nose again.

"So he'd get caught. So everyone would know he was sneaking food," Summer said unsure of herself.

"No, Summer. Do not lie. If you wanted him caught you would have told on him. You could have told Miss Valentina or Papa when they were in Bastian's room and he would have been caught right there before he could have hidden his stolen things in a different place. Why did you want him to get sick?"

"I don't know."

"Summer, you do know. You do not want to look at it because it is ugly. Do you know the story behind the metal bush in your Mama's office?"

"It's the one that was a bullet. The one that grew inside you. The evil bush that almost killed my Papa."

"It is a very ugly thing and like most ugly things it only kept growing. What would have happened if Papa and Mama had ignored that ugly thing and not dealt with it, Summer?"

"It would keep growin' and killed you," the small girl said miserably.

"Do not let an ugly thing grow in you, Summer. Pull it out. Face it and beat it as I have taught you to face down monsters and beat them. The monsters on the inside are hardest to fight."

"The harder the fight, the greater the hero?" Summer asked, quoting another of her father's favorite sayings.

Kai noded. For the first time in the conversation his frown relaxed into a slight smile.

"If Bastian got sick from his own treats, no one would blame me. If he was sick, Mama could make him well. If Mama had to stay to make him well, she'd keep the babies with her 'cause she only feeds them her milk, not bottle milk."

"And? You're almost at the end, Summer."

"Then Papa and Me would go to Innsbruck alone, I guess."

"Why?" Kai asked.

"Because Papa can't help make people well?"

"No, Summer, why did you want this so much you made your brother sick."

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do, Summer. Only fear makes someone act like this. What is Summer so afraid of that she has done these terrible things and even lied to herself and almost lied to her Papa?"

Summer's lip quivered then she started to cry. It was not the slow leak of tears but a full watershed. Kai examined his daughter for a second before he pulled her in for a hug. These were not tears of denial. She had realized fully what she'd done. He hugged her to give her strength to finish what she'd started.

"Papa has lots of babies. Papa always finds time for all of us," Summer said.

"While your Mama has only you and does not have so much time. It is not your Mama's fault she has important work while Papa has had time free."

"I thought with the new babies Mama would never be with me anymore. So...so I couldn't stop them from stealing Mama but they wouldn't get Papa too."

"Alright, blow your nose little Summy," Kai said gently, calling his daughter by his affectionate pet name for her for the first time.

Summer blew her nose and with a few more gulps of air, she began to calm down.

"You have done terrible a thing. It cannot be erased but it might be mended. You will have to learn from what has happened so you never do something so terrible again."

"Papa...do you still love me?" Summer asked.

"Of course, but I do no like what you did. You do not like what you did or you would not have lied to yourself. Now, the worst part is over. The next part is not pleasant either, but it will not be as hard as all that," Kai explained.

"What's next?"

"What always happens when we do wrong, Summer?"

"We get punished?"

"Yes. The first thing you will have to do is you will have to explain all of this all of what you have done and apologize to Bastian, Miss Valentina, to _everyone_ , Summer."

Summer squirmed uncomfortably.

"Also, I want you to think of this, Summer. Rats are very small but when they eat the poison that looks like peanut butter, they eat a quarter block before their bellies are full, maybe a full block if they are very greedy. You are right that your brother is bigger than a rat, so what is deadly to a rat would not kill him. Your brother did not eat one block of poison. He ate many blocks that were in with the fudge."

"You mean..."

"If your mama had not come back so fast, he could have died."

Summer paled.

"I have trusted you more than any of the other children and I have spent more time with you than the others, Summer, because you are oldest. You must lead the way and show the others what it is to be Dragon-Blooded. These are not the actions of a leader, Summer. They are not worthy of the strong, beautiful woman you will become. You will have to work to regain not only Bastian's trust, but the trust of the other children who will wonder if Summer is going to make a mistake and get us killed."

"I don't want to hurt anyone."

"You wanted your mama to stay behind enough to forget that. You were so busy thinking of Summer you didn't think of what others feel. Many of the other children's Mamas are busy too. Many of them wish they had more time with their Mamas or with Papa."

"I'm sorry, Papa."

"I know you are, but you must do more than say you are sorry. You must show you are sorry. Come, Summer, we will start. First we go talk to the others about what you did then the adults will talk about what else Summer can do to show she is sorry and what punishments you must endure," Kai explained.

Kai lead his little daughter off. He was sure Terra would be heartbroken to learn the convoluted tale. He also worried that soon, her and even his time management would become an even greater struggle. Indications were with the new Celestial Exalted showing up, everyone was going to have more rather than less trouble to deal with.


	4. Chapter 4

Lennox, CA

5:25 PM Pacific Standard TIme

* * *

Kashi rode in the passenger seat of Sayuri's BMW. He was staring out the window at the whirl of lights that sped by as the couple approached their destination: a local car dealer. At Sayuri's request, their date night dinner had been postponed to get a jump on finding Kashi some transportation. Kashi was not too thrilled at the prospect, mostly as it extended the time between meals, but he was trying to be less petulant. He realized Sayuri was only thinking of him and so he quickly relented.

"It won't take too long. We'll look around and tomorrow I can do some research online to find the best places to go," she said. "This is more to get you accustomed to what you'll be doing and seeing and get an idea of what you'd like."

"I want something that moves," Kashi said, trying not to sound too sour. He reflected for a moment before continuing. "And no minivans with wood paneling," he said with a smile.

They both laughed and their hands met on the console and intertwined. They rode in silence for the next few minutes just enjoying each other's company until Sayuri turned into a car lot whose jingle she had heard several times on the radio. As they pulled up, the pair noticed two men in khakis and button down shirts leap to their feet on the other side of the tinted glass. As they raced for the door, they both slapped the handle. The man who slapped it first smiled at the loser before proceeding out the door leaving the other man behind to walk back to his desk. The couple had barely made it out of their car before he was close enough to begin introductions.

"Good afternoon ma'am, sir," he said shaking both their hands. He was wearing a big smile. "My name's Tom. What can I help you with today?"

"Um, hi, Tom. My name's Sayuri. We're looking at something for my boyfriend here," she said gesturing to Kashi

"Well, Sayuri, I'm sure I can help with that. Do you have any idea what you are looking for," he asked still looking at Sayuri.

Sayuri looked over to Kashi who just shrugged almost uninterested in the conversation. Tom gave a little cough and turned toward the blonde haired man. "I'm afraid I didn't get your name. Forgive me. You are…"

"Kashi. Kashi Kimura."

Interesting name Mr. Kimura. Well, Kashi, if you don't know what you want, perhaps I can take you around and show you what we have."

They began to walk and talk with Tom beginning to devote most of his attention to Kashi. He seemed to read him like a book. "You look hungry there, Kashi. Can I get one of the guys to get you some popcorn? Maybe a hot dog from our little vendor here?"

Kashi immediately lit up. He nodded and Tom snapped his finger and almost instantly, Kashi found himself with a bag of popcorn in one hand and a hot dog in the other.

"Let's see. You are in college, yes?"

"Yeah! How'd you know?" Kashi mumbled, a mouth full of hotdog.

"I've got an eye for details," Tom said with a smile, looking almost ironically at Kashi's UCLA plastered outfit. "So you want something that looks good, but isn't an open invitation to others. After all you have one heck of a catch right here," he continued with a wink toward Sayuri. "So something reliable, but not an old person car, right?"

"That's just what I was telling her," Kashi said, nodding eagerly.

As the tour went on Kashi slowly warmed up to Tom. His nature was easy going and he was relatable. They walked through a few cars first, then some used jeeps, and made their way over to some trucks. They stayed there for a while before Tom lead them to the front of the lot.

Kashi had never really had a vehicle built for speed. While he had often thought it would be nice to own a sports car, he never in his life thought he would be able to afford one. Now, with his recent windfall, it not only looked like he could, but Tom had found the perfect one for him. He was checking out a very nice brand new Corvette when Sayuri caught his eye. She motioned him over.

"What do you think, Sayuri?" Kashi asked with his typical boyish enthusiasm.

"Maybe we should head out and come back later. It is getting kind of late and I'm starting to get hungry."

Kashi extended his hand which held a bag of popcorn. It was his third such bag.

"No, thank you. I'd like some real food. I think it's time for us to leave."

Kashi was a bit taken aback. I was rare for Sayuri to act this way. Kashi, normally tone deaf, didn't miss this change in the woman he loved. He'd been around long enough to know this wasn't a normal reaction. He sighed and tossed a forlorn look at the Corvette behind him with a smiling Tom holding the driver's side door open.

He walked back over and apologized for the abrupt departure but Tom took it all in stride.

"Well, hate to see you run off, Kashi, but I understand you don't keep a lady like that waiting," he said with a knowing wink. "Come back soon and we can take this baby on a test drive! Remember to ask for me, Tom T!"

"You bet," Kashi said with a smile and the three walked back to Sayuri's BMW where Tom waved goodbye as the couple drove away.

They hadn't even made it out of the parking lot before Sayuri made a rather indelicate sound and her face contorted with disgust. Kashi looked over bewildered.

"What's wrong," he asked.

"That man was utterly disgusting," she snarled.

Kashi took a moment to think back over the experience and couldn't think why she would feel that way. "What did he do? I thought he was really nice."

Sayuri shot him an incredulous look that slowly softened and she then began to laugh. Kashi was even more confused and the look on his face increased her laugher to near hysterics. Slowly she calmed down and reached over the intervening distance and put her hand gently on the side of his face. "Kashi, I can't tell if you are too good for this world or just a victim of it."

She chuckled then pulled her hand back to the steering wheel and exited the lot.

"He was playing you, Kashi. Those two men at the front door saw my car and raced out to get a commission check. Tom didn't even look twice at you until I pointed out your existence. You know, he was right. He _is_ very good at reading people. He saw what I was wearing and looked at what you were wearing and prematurely sized us up. I know what went through his mind. He originally thought I'd be buying something _for_ you. But he quickly figured out this was going to be your choice and he played you like a fiddle. He got to know you. He flattered you. And if you think back, he slowly walked you through the cheaper cars, buttering you up and getting to know you better until he had you about to drop seventy thousand dollars on a car you have no need for, no idea what the surely sky high insurance costs would be and was the exact opposite of what you came to look for in the first place."

Kashi's face twisted. He started to object, but stopped himself and thought back. She was right, of course. Everything she said fell into place and Kashi turned red; half from embarrassment and half from anger.

Sayuri looked at him, sighed, and then gave another chuckle. "He had you in the palm of his hand," she said. Then her voice dropped. "And NO ONE does that to you but me!"

The would-be dupe smiled and looked over at his love where the smile faded from his lips. She was not smiling. In a moment of clarity, he saw she wasn't kidding. It wasn't a joke. Sayuri had just gave voice to the idea that he wasn't to be anyone's plaything but hers and for a brief moment, he was terrified at the implication.

Sayuri's mouth tightened and her eyes lit up as a flash of insight hit her like a thunderbolt. "I know where we can go! My uncle! He buys lots of stuff second hand, including cars they use in movies."

"Wait a minute, you mean Reiko's dad?"

"Yes!"

"Aren't those like banged up and stuff?"

"No, not always. Sometimes a studio will buy extra vehicles to use in movies and they don't even use them. We can at least go see what he has," Sayuri said as she deftly began to text at the first red light the pair came to.

Kashi nodded. "Sounds good to me. Good thing I ate back there," he said with a smile.

* * *

Hollywood Reclamations

Outskirts of Ladera Heights

6:30 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Kashi had been to Reiko Albareda's house many times...mostly for clandestine meetings between the two. Located on the outskirts of Ladera Heights, the large two story home was situated across the street from an expansive fenced in lot with an attached warehouse, although Kashi had never been inside that area. He'd mostly been preoccupied with getting into Reiko's bedroom late at night. Even though it was getting late, to Kashi's surprise, the gate of the fenced in lot, crowned with razor wire and security cameras, had been rolled back and a familiar, bouncy figure stood waiting at the side of the entrance. Sayuri stopped the car at the entrance and almost as soon as she was out of the car, she was seized in a great exuberant hug.

"YURI!" Reiko squealed excitedly. Although related to Sayuri, the two were remarkably different and not just in personality. Reiko's mother had been Sayuri's father's sister. She had married an affluent, but exuberant and hard working Hispanic man. As such, Reiko had a very different look to her than her cousin, even before she'd become a Dragon Blooded.

The young Fire Aspect, who was slightly shorter than Sayuri, was dressed in a revealing tube top with the name of her father's business plastered across her chest. She wore shorts and trendy boots. Her skin, even in the dim light of the street lamps, had a warm bronze color to it. Her long, thick, wild, hair, used to be a common black but her manifestation had turned it a fiery golden blond streaked with red which was held back by a bright blue bandana. It was styled with a riot of barets and braids that cascaded down to her mid back. Her athletic, lithe form gave off the occasional heat shimmer.

"Reiko!" Sayuri exclaimed, obviously surprised.

"It's so good to see you, Yuri! And….KASHI!" The girl squealed even louder as Kashi rounded the front of Sayuri's car. She latched onto him ferociously, pulling him into a three way hug. She lingered a little bit in hugging Kashi before finally releasing him. She shot him a sideways glance and a smile before turning back to Sayuri.

"Yuri! Daddy's waiting. He's got some stuff to show Kashi! He's got some really, really cool cars and bikes!"

Kashi nodded and smiled. "Thanks, Reiko. It's good to see you again." He held out his hand for Sayuri, but Reiko interjected.

"You go talk to Daddy, Kashi. He's in the warehouse back there. You can't miss him." She pointed back beyond the rows of cars and rental construction equipment to the well kept metal building. " I want to talk to Yuri. Girl stuff," she said with a wink.

Kashi hesitated slightly.

"Go on, Kashi," Sayuri said gently.

"Yeah, shoo!" Reiko teased, making forward sweeping motions with her hands.

Kashi smiled, winked at Sayuri and turned to walk away, eventually retreating between the rows of cars. As he did so, Reiko craned her neck to watch him go. She made a sucking noise with her teeth. "Mmmm…. _damn_. I could watch him walk away all day." She blinked and realized that she was biting on her lower lip.

Sayuri cleared her throat and brought Reiko back to her senses. "Sorry, Yuri…"

"I know you and Kashi had sex, Reiko. I know you like him…."

"...but you love him, don't you?" Reiko finished happily.

Sayuri nodded. "I think I do."

"I just want his body. And what a body! I mean, the size of his coc-

"REIKO!" Sayuri blushed.

Reiko smiled. She loved to push her more demure cousin's buttons. "You and Kashi still haven't done it, have you?"

Sayuri looked nervously to the ground. "Reiko, Daddy knows about Kashi. We had a huge fight about him. I don't want to live at home with him anymore."

Reiko looked sad, concerned, pensive and then overjoyed. Sayuri was struck by the similarity between Reiko's and Kashi's inability to hide anything. The absolute whirlwind of emotions that played across her face at breakneck speed was punctuated by small harmless sparks that emanated from her body as she bounced up and down again. "Does that mean you'll move in with me?! Does it, huh? Huh? Huh?"

Sayuri nodded. "You're sure you don't want to live at MSI with the others?"

Reiko made a rude noise. "Those looneys? They're like a disaster prepper cult up there. I got a job working here in the city. Apparently it's trendy to have a Manifested on call in a major metropolitan area, so California decided to base me here and put me on retainer."

"So, you've decided to go with the state's offer, huh?"

Reiko nodded.

"Even if the state is going to hire you, I didn't think you could actually go anywhere or do anything without Kai Silbern?"

Reiko made another rude noise and folded her arms. She looked up at the sky petulantly. "Don't remind me. Until I'm of 'majority' they say. I guess I'm stuck with him 'til my birthday. Then it's _sayonara_ MSI weirdos!"

Sayuri smiled. "Reiko, did you ever think the other Manifested seemed cliquish and 'strange' to you because of what they went through together? I mean, you kinda did reap all the benefits of their struggle without enduring any of the hardships?"

"And that's supposed to be _my_ fault?"

"No, I was just curious if you'd ever thought about it. Or the fact that, because you decided to take this job, that you are the first non-MSI Manifested in the California Department of Esoteric and Psychic Phenomena. That's basically the state of California's way of getting out from having to re-up their contract with MSI. You're a precedent, Reiko. That's all they want. That's why they're giving you such a cushy post."

Reiko snorted. "So? The others take advantage of their powers too. I'm hoppin' on the gravy train! And besides, it's hardly my fault they don't want to use MSI! It's probably their culty nature that's making the state want someone else. I mean what if they wanted them to help the police serve a warrant on PSI? It's technically their parent company so would they do it? It's better to have an outsider like me do it," she countered.

"I'm just saying it's got to hurt their pride. It's like the people who had their jobs outsourced and then had to train their replacements," Sayuri pointed out.

"I still don't want to live with them, even if it wasn't some conflict of interests," Reiko huffed. "Besides, I've got enough for us to have an awesome place here in town!"

"Fine. I was just curious," Sayuri said with a smile. Reiko wasn't the only one who knew how to push someone's buttons.

"So, you'll move in with me?"

Sayuri nodded.

"And you'll bring Kashi over, right?!"

Sayuri's shoulders sagged. "Reiko…I need you to be serious for a minute. I think tonight's going to be night for me and Kashi..."

Reiko stared at her cousin and then took her hands. Reiko's grasp was even warmer than Kashi's. The Dragon Blooded looked so unbelievably happy for her cousin. "That means you two are like...the real deal! You always swore you'd never get physical with a guy unless you could see it being forever."

"I think so," Sayuri said. "The fight with dad made me realize that."

"Kashi's loved you since you were in 11th grade, Yuri," Reiko confided in her cousin. "He just...didn't know how to show it where you would understand. He's...well, you know...Kashi..."

"How do you know that?"

Reiko put her finger to her eye. "The way he looks at you. It was different than the way he looked at me or any of the other girls he hooked up with."

Sayuri smiled back at Reiko. "I love him too...but enough about me and Kashi. Tell me what's been going on with you? I haven't seen you since October."

Sayuri was unprepared for the almost non-stop, excruciatingly detailed tale of Reiko's Manifested training and her combat sessions; first at the air force base then, once she'd mastered the basics, under Kai Silbern and the ladies of MSI.

"...Kai gives surprise spot inspections, Yuri. He's nuts!"

The two chatted for a while about UCLA, if Reiko wanted to go to college, and what she wanted to do with her powers. Other than 'make money' the young girl had thought little of her future. Sayuri thought that was typical. Reiko was never much a planner.

As the two talked, the clear, distinctive sound of a motorcycle approaching with a high pitch and at a high rate of speed interrupted the pair. Almost before the pair could blink, Kashi returned. He was astride a sleek, gleaming white motorcycle clad in a matching full face helmet. He brought the bike to a skillful, yet abrupt stop right before the two girls. He put the kickstand down and leaned back as he removed the helmet, shaking out his golden mane and smiling broadly.

"I thought you were going to look at some of the cars, Kashi..." Sayuri began.

"I looked at a few, but then I saw this! It's a Hayabusa, Yuri! A real sports bike, Pearl Glacier White, 190 miles an hour top speed!" He looked so completely sold on getting the bike Sayuri knew there would be no changing his mind.

Reiko, meanwhile, beamed. "I thought you'd like that."

Sayuri shot her cousin an exasperated look.

"Don't you like it, Yuri?" Kashi asked.

"I like it if you like it," she answered diplomatically. "Although, you know you can't do anywhere near that top speed here in L.A."

"You can if you don't get caught," Kashi smiled.

Reiko nodded and Sayuri rolled her eyes.

"Reiko's dad wants to put some new tires on it and give it a tune up. He said I could come back and get it tomorrow when I give him the money for it. He's throwing the helmet in too!"

"Well, I guess that's it then," Sayuri said. "That is more 'you' than that Corvette, Kashi."

"And at a fraction of the price! Mr. Albareda gave me a deal. Besides, I can get a car later," Kashi said. He was brimming with excitement over his new ride.

Sayuri slipped her arm around Kashi and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Go put it back and we'll go get something to eat. But promise me you'll think about some kind of car later, too. It does occasionally rain you know," she said touching his nose with a finger.

"It's ok, this bike has a mode for driving in the rain," Kashi said in an offhand way. "Wait, you don't want to see your uncle, Yuri?" he asked curiously.

It was Reiko who spoke up. "She can see him any ol' time. Go on, Kashi. You _do_ want to get to dinner don't you?"

Kashi looked momentarily suspicious, but he put his hand on his stomach and nodded. He put the helmet back on, and revved up the engine, streaking back to the large warehouse.

"You can always count on Kashi's appetite!" Reiko laughed.

"I have no idea how he eats so much and still has those abs," Sayuri said.

Reiko smiled mischievously. "He's very, very vigorous."

"Reiko!"

"Sorry! I couldn't help myself."

Very shortly, Kashi came sprinting back. He was always fast. 'Okay! You ready to go, Yuri?"

Sayuri nodded.

"Reiko, good to see you!" Kashi said with a wink.

Reiko smiled and waved mischievously as the pair got back into Sayuri's BMW and pulled away. She crossed her arms and smiled. She was looking forward to hearing from Sayuri in the morning and most importantly of all, she was looking forward to a restful holiday with Kai Silbern far, far away in Austria.

* * *

The Overlook Restaurant

Hollywood, CA

7:45 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

The restaurant was nice, but casual. Kashi had suggested the place based on the price and the view. His informal attire did not lend itself to most higher end restaurants that he could, amazingly, now afford. Despite his dress, he still wanted to treat Sayuri to something a little more special than fast food for their date. Afterall she was dressed up.

Kashi had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of food industry in the Los Angeles area. He knew most every spot, and while never one to worry too much about atmosphere, he had been more keenly aware of such things since dating Sayuri. As such, he knew which places would fit his needs in this situation. The Overlook was a rooftop restaurant in Hollywood overlooking the entire valley. It was about a thirty five minute drive, but he promised Sayuri the view would be worth it - even after dark.

He had been right. The entire Los Angeles basin was laid out before them. The many pinpricks of light made it seem as if the stars had fallen from the sky and draped them over the City of Angels. In the distance, they could even see the spires of downtown. Kashi fingered the ring box in his pocket. Despite the sparkling beauty of Los Angeles at night, he internally lamented that the sun had gone down. The sunset would have been marvelous, but there had been no way they could have made it in time.

The pair were seated fairly quickly, as far as Los Angeles went. They were at a table with a fantastic view of the city in the distance. Kashi was turning over in his mind what he should do. He wanted his proposal to Sayuri to be absolutely perfect. He thought after dinner might be the perfect time. His stomach rumbled loudly as he began to awkwardly peruse the menu. As he did, he felt a pair of eyes on him and he looked up to see Sayuri smiling lopsidedly at him.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I heard your stomach from here, Kashi. You must be hungry."

"Starving." He tried to look at the menu again, but all of the words seemed to run together. He kept replaying the events of the day over in his mind: his encounter with Rosa, Nana giving him the ring, his fight with his father, and getting his new bike. They all seemed to blur and jumble in his mind. The waitress came by and he ordered. He didn't even remember _what_ he ordered: he just knew it was a lot. Something endless. He thought it was tacos.

The waitress brought their drinks and Kashi mumbled a thank you. He looked down at the table, then out over the scenery again. Sayuri clearing her throat brought him back to reality.

'What's up, Kashi? We're alone and you clam up? I can usually count on you to talk non-stop."

"I was just thinking, I wanted us to go to the Yamashiro, you know, like we did when we went with Willow, but man, it's expensive! I mean, that's not really an issue because I wanted our date to be special…..but I called at Reiko's and couldn't get a table. They were booked. I mean, this place is nice and has the same view, but I thought it might be like a nice sort of 'echo' of our first date. You know, but without Willow."

Sayuri looked at Kashi critically. "I don't care where we go, as long as I'm with you, but that's not what's bothering you, is it?"

Kashi looked at her. He was trying to cover what was bothering him, but he'd known his girlfriend long enough to realize she would drag the truth out of him eventually. Afterall, he was a terrible liar. "No...not really, you're right. I just keep thinking about my dad, ya know? He's such as asshole. I don't want to ever turn into that." That was partially true. He had been worried about his encounter with his father. Maybe she would buy that.

"Forget about him, Kashi. You don't need his negativity. What you need is someone who will listen to you. Someone that will help you and try to help you understand what you are."

Kashi smiled and reached for her hand and she grasped his in return. She felt the familiar warmth radiating from it.

"Which...brings me to my next question…"

"What's that?" He asked as he squeezed her hand before untangled it from hers.

Sayuri paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to best frame her question. "What does it _feel_ like? What's it like to be...you know. What you are. Manifested. An Exalt."

Kashi paused to collect his thoughts and so the the waitress wouldn't overhear as she set down a tray of appetizers that Sayuri ordered. He dug in voraciously and began to eat. He motioned with his hand before we swallowed to indicate that he was not avoiding the question. "I guess...the best way to describe it is...you know like how, when you work out, you push yourself, right? Well, the only way you can grow is if you push past those limits. I _know_ that I can push past those limits. I can feel it all the time. It's like a fire inside me. It's a fire that wants to be used. It's almost demanding to be used. I had to fight the temptation to use it every time I played soccer. What's worse, it feels so natural. It's almost effortless."

"Is it exhilarating? Does it feel good?" she asked.

Kashi nodded. He then lowered his eyes. "It's also terrifying sometimes. I can feel the power surging through me and I know it's just a fraction of what I can do. Nobody knows what I am. The Hunters couldn't find their asses with both hands. The Vampires? Well, the less said about them the better. I could go to the guys at MSI, but...I want to say here. With you. I don't want to be holed up there, like what they did to Reiko. I want to live my life the way I want to live it. I want to be there for you. I want to be your protector."

"You don't have to be my protector. All I want you to be is the dumb surf boy I fell in love with. The guy who stands up for those who really need help. The guy who can't lie to save his life. The guy who can eat his weight in hamburgers and still happily ask for dessert," Sayuri said with a smile.

"Well, I can do that," he said with a smile, scooping up another large portion of the nacho appetizers and cramming them artlessly in his mouth. "...That makes me think maybe I should have gotten hamburgers."

Sayuri snorted with laughter. "Seriously though, Kashi, have you ever thought about talking to Bree Madigan some more? She's got to be in a very similar boat to you."

It was Kashi's turn to make a rude huffing noise. A noise very similar to the one Reiko made earlier. "Blabbermouth Bree? I'm surprised that squealing nark hasn't ratted me out already with the 2x4 sized stick up her ass."

"Kashi!"

Kashi waved his hand. However, before he could elaborate further, the waitress brought out their food. She set down a salad for Sayuri and a plate loaded with tacos and burritos for Kashi. Kashi, true to form, began to chow down with rabid intensity. He devoured plate after plate of food at a rapid pace, even faster than his usual rapacious gorging.

As Kashi ate, he thought to himself about what he should do. His mind was a jumble. However, he kept floating back to his proposal. He could feel the ring in his pocket.

 _Man, I really wish the Yamashiro had a table open. It would have been a great place to propose to Sayuri. Although this place is almost a good. But do I want to settle for 'almost as good' with her? No. It has to be special! Besides, all this mopey talk hasn't been the best lead in for 'please spend your life with me.' And Nana was right, there is no need to rush into this. I can take the time to make it perfect. But….on the other hand. I want to do it now! But...maybe I should wait…._

Sayuri watched him from across the table as he swallowed an entire burrito in three huge bites, pounding his chest to make it go down faster. Over Thanksgiving, Jay Odele had said Kashi had once been a stress eater. Old habits die hard and his eating tonight was evidence that something, most likely his father, was still bothering him. The plates piled up as the minutes passed and the waitress ran back and forth bringing Kashi his 'endless' supply of tacos and burritos almost continuously. Sayuri had finished long before Kashi but the waitress had already given up and left a pitcher of water on the table for him. Sayuri was fairly sure the restaurant might be rethinking their special offer after tonight. She gave a slight smile at the thought before another, more darker, insight came to wipe the smile away. Kashi wasn't just stress eating. In a very real sense, he was attacking the food. Unable to or unknowing how to confront a problem that rose only in his psyche, the man she loved retreated into combat with one of the few things that gave him comfort… food. It wasn't just stress, it was pain. Her heart poured out as she wondered how often the man in front of her had fought this very fight to become such an expert.

Though she had already made up her mind, this revelation just cemented it more. Despite his foibles, and perhaps because of them, she loved him. She knew what she was going to do. "Kashi. I...I don't want to go home just yet after our date. I..I've been giving a lot of thought recently and I want to be with you tonight."

Kashi, for his part, waved his hand as he worked hard to swallow the food in his mouth to free it up to respond. "Okay! What is it you wanna do? You wanna go skating, or maybe to a movie? We could go get ice cream. I know a place that has one of those huge sundaes you can get," he said without a trace of irony.

Inwardly, Sayuri rolled her eyes. "No, Kashi. I want to _be_ with you," she said with a noticeable lilt in her voice. She leaned over the table, artfully dodging his pile of dishes and kissed him on the cheek. She whispered into his ear. "I want us to make love."

Kashi's face went from puzzlement, to shock, to wonder and finally delight in a matter of seconds.. "Are...are you sure?"

Sayuri nodded. "I've been thinking about it for a while and I want to be with you. I want to have sex with you," she said as she brushed her leg against his under the table and put her hand on his cheek.

All the nervousness and apprehension that had been wrapped around Kashi like a cocoon seemed to melt away from him. All other thoughts - including proposing to Sayuri - vanished from his mind as all of the pent up sexual energy from the past few months came crashing over the teenager.

Sayuri's voice snapped him out of his reverie. "I've thought about it and I know where we can go; the hotel my dad owns. It's not too far away. You know, where we met Jay. We can even use that room. It's the penthouse and it's almost never booked. Dad was actually rather stunned that Mr. Odele wanted to book it. He's been remodeling it and parts of it still aren't open. I can get in, I go there a lot on errands for him. No one will look twice if I'm there."

"You're sure?"

Sayuri nodded. "I have never been more sure, Kashi."

Kashi seemed to gape for a moment.

"Although, I could understand if you don't want to…" Sayuri began.

"NO!" Kashi said loudly. So loudly that other patrons in the restaurant turned to look at him. He looked sheepishly from side to side and then lowered his voice. "I mean, yes, yes I'll be with you...like that."

Sayuri smiled as Kashi began to awkwardly try to signal the waitress to bring their bill, alternating between attempting to calmly and quietly get her attention and all but waving his arms in the air.

* * *

Platinum Arms Hotel

Top Floor

10:15 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Kashi had done some research on his phone on the drive over to the hotel. The website for the Platinum Arms advertised their newly renovated heated pool and rooftop bar coming in January 2013. With any luck, it was done enough for what he had in mind. He went to scout out the roof while Sayuri was 'securing' their room but not before finding a safe spot to hide the ring box in a drawer that was unlikely to be used. He was able to slip into the rooftop area and found it completely finished. Apparently Mr. Sato had the only contractors on planet Earth who finished on time. Kashi fumbled around in the dark with the light on his phone until he came to a light switch. The lights came on and illuminated the entire bar; which featured a spacious outdoor area with a swimming pool surrounded by colonnade like structure that ringed the entire roof. Large, antique-looking clear string lights were hung from the roof and converged in the center. Kashi played with the lighting of the roof until only those lights and the glow of the pool were left illuminating the patio.

He found a device that he could plug his phone into that was wired to the bar's speakers. He doubted anyone would hear even if he turned them up to full blast. There was no one on this floor and the lobby was twenty stories below. He carefully arranged the playlist selection on his phone while he texted Sayuri to meet him on the roof. He also texted his mother that he would not be coming home. She had not responded, but she was working. At least she could not accuse him of keeping her out of the loop, although he had not told her exactly what he was doing. He figured she could read between the lines. He finally settled on a playlist of what he thought was appropriately romantic music; mostly a grabbag of 90s R&B ballads along with some more contemporary love songs.

Kashi gazed out at the Los Angeles skyline. He didn't even hear Sayuri approach him from behind. Her soft hands wrapped around his chest as she hugged him from behind. Kashi whirled around to face her. His face broke into a wide grin.

"What's all this -" Sayuri began, but Kashi put his finger to her lips.

"We have to create the perfect atmosphere," he said. "We'll start with a little dancing, maybe a late night swim." He cut his eyes over to the pool, glowing a soft green with thin trails of steam rising slowly from the warm water.

Very gently, Kashi brought Sayuri close to him. He ran his hands up and down her sides before settling on her waist. She, in turn, wrapped her hands around his shoulders and put her head on his chest while Kashi rested his chin on the top hers. While Kashi and previously lamented his lack of 'tame' dance moves, this seemed just right. It wasn't really dancing, more of the pair just holding each other.

After a while, Sayuri broke the silence. "Kashi...let's go for a swim," she said as she gently tugged at his UCLA hoodie.

Kashi nodded. 'You're sure you're ready for this?"

To answer his question, Sayuri lifted the shirt over his head and tossed it towards the darkened bar area, leaving him bare chested. Sayuri gazed at his deep, muscular chest and perfect abs, all trace of his enormous dinner already gone, along with his arms like corded steel, covered in his flawless tan skin. Reiko had been right. He was definitely something to look at.

Kashi meanwhile, took it upon himself to relieve Sayuri of her top. With one last, final assent from her, he artfully flicked the back of her bra and removed the lacy undergarment. He examined it in the dim light. "32C, Victoria's Secret, pink lace. An excellent choice," he said, trying his best to imitate a fashion critic.

Sayuri playfully punched him. "Well?"

Kashi looked at her. She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Her generous breasts were on display for him and he was almost lost for words. He drank all of her in; she had an almost perfect hourglass figure. He loved every inch of her, from the beautiful trail of luscious brown hair that cascaded down her back to her deep green eyes to her soft, beautiful skin. He nodded with wide eyes.

"I'll take that as an approval," she said. A mischievous grin crossed her face. "Alright, 'Big Bat Kimura,' show me why you've got that nickname. As if I can't tell from the outline in your shorts there."

Kashi, never one to be shy, eagerly complied. He removed his outer athletic shorts and folded them on a nearby chair. Clad only his is boxers, which lead extremely little to the imagination, he sprinted toward the pool. "If you want to see the rest, you'll have to catch me!"

He dived in with a terrific splash. Sayuri, laughing, chased after him. Kashi pretended to get away from her before he playfully let her catch him. He kissed her, fiercely before he felt her fingers at his waist band. Surrounded by the warm water, he leaned back, floating and allowed her to remove them. He then righted and stood up in the water. This time, it was his turn to ask her opinion.

"Well?" He said, imitating his girlfriend playfully.

"It's...big," she said. " _Really_ big. Must be where all your food goes."

Kashi laughed and pulled her to him. As she did so, she removed her last remaining garment: her silken panties. She tossed them on the side of the pool and the two lovers embraced. The pair swam together in the pool, laughing and playing, all the while exploring their newfound intimacy. However, it was Kashi who insisted that the pair not make love in the pool.

"It'll make your first time harder," he explained. "It's not what the movies and TV make it out to be. Trust me." Instead, he scooped up his beloved in a bridal carry, swaddling her in a large towel. He almost made it to the room before he had to sprint back comically for the key and his pants with his wallet in them.

However, nothing could spoil their mood as Kashi carried Sayuri over the threshold of the suite where they had first met Jay Odele. Kashi carefully placed his love on the bed. He took his time, savoring every bit of her naked body and locking it away in memory. When Kashi at last carefully joined with Sayuri it was different than any other time he had ever made love. He experienced not just a physical connection with Yuri, but a deep abiding spiritual one as well. In fact, he understood for the first time why it was called making love. All other times was just sex. This was the real deal. He loved her and he realized that almost any other sort of sex would just be a poor substitute for this bliss.

Kashi had been exceedingly gentle and tender with Sayuri their first time. They lay in bed for quite some time afterwards as they basked in the mutual glow of each other's presence. They cuddled and kissed and Kashi, unaccustomed to this feeling of closeness, hung on to her for dear life, terrified he'd somehow lose her. Finally Sayuri turned to him. "Kashi, that was beautiful. It was everything I could have wanted, but…"

"But…? Kashi's heart momentarily sank. He hoped against hope she didn't have any regrets.

"Kashi...I want you to have sex with me again. But this time...I want you to have sex with me like you had sex with Reiko."

"What?"

'Come on, 'Big Bat.' Use that thing. I want you to _fuck_ me."

Kashi's eyes went as big as saucers. He'd never heard Sayuri speak like this before. However, he was not going to complain. He seized her in a passionate embrace and took her vigorously, using all of his considerable energy. The pair blissfully and passionately made love numerous times before finally passing out in each other's arms, peacefully sleeping together, having finally come together as one.

Their sleep was peaceful, full of dreams of their shared experiences and newfound intimacy. Secure in each other's arms, they were blissfully unaware as the clock ticked over to midnight and a veil passed over the heavens, as if someone had drawn a blanket over the night sky. The stars vanished and the moon winked completely out of sight as the borders between reality and the underworld all but collapsed and reality itself was rent asunder. While two lovers slept in complete contentment, the world around them very quickly began to fall completely apart.


	5. Chapter 5

San Diego, California

Not Far from Horton Plaza

11:00 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

The Guardians of Creation circle came together near the end of November. As they warmed to one another, they discovered their personalities meshed. As they were one of - if not _the_ \- first full circle of Solar Exalted to reunite, they felt it was their duty to immediately consolidate and present a united front to prepare the world for the prophesied, yet mysterious, doom that was coming.

They had, thus far, found only a few matters of contention between them. One such matter was neither Bree Madigan nor Dan Walker put much faith in Edmond Campeggio and his honeyed tongue. However, Immanuel "Manny" Waters and Mary Blake felt trusting in and working with a Solar so highly trusted by the Dragon Blooded was critical. Their Night Caste, Natalia Evans, was so far indifferent. She wished to observe and form her own opinion before passing judgement. They had agreed to shelve the matter for later while they worked on the more immediate issues.

It was one of these more immediate concerns which brought them together tonight. In October, Bree had helped a mixed alliance of Hunters and Anarch vampires, along with a fellow Solar Kashi Kimura, nearly wipe out the San Diego Sabbat in retaliation for a raid the Sabbat had launched on Los Angeles.

Innocent people had been hurt by the Sabbat and Bree was glad they had been down. However, in the wake of their combined task force's pull back from San Diego, the Anarchs were unable to muster the power or numbers to form a permanent presence in the city. The Hunters were even more limited in their ranks, and none wished to patrol or move so far from their homes. As such, neither group was able to provide any sort of stability for the city, leaving a noticeable power vacuum.

The city did not sit empty for long and that vacuum had been filled by the eastern blood drinkers known as the Kuei-jin, who had sent a powerful force into the city. Leading this force was the infamous Ming Xiao, former leader of the Kuei-jin who had once occupied Los Angeles. MIng Xiao and her followers had been routed from Los Angeles almost a decade ago by the so called 'Seven,' an alliance of different supernaturals who went on to found the New Orleans ruling council.

Unlike western or 'Cainite' vampires, the Kuei-jin were more akin to the Risen: ghosts who animated physical bodies. Thus, the destruction of her flesh had exiled Ming Xiao back into one of the hellish pockets of the underworld reserved for the wicked of Asia. Ming Xiao was only able to return to the mortal world after clawing her way back out of hell. The experience had not sweetened her disposition.

With such a bitter enemy now on their doorstep, the Los Angeles vampires were convinced a war was coming. Many had complained they had only traded one foe for another; the Sabbat for the Kuei-jin. As such, they had begun to prepare for an invasion of their territory. The Hunters fragile pact with the Children of Caine had all but evaporated, leading to them worrying about so many Cainites arming up. The Hunters responded in kind, preparing for combat. This, in turn, alarmed both the local Projector firms and the Fera. It was through the Fera that the news finally filtered up to the Dragon Blooded and finally to Edmond Campeggio. Upon learning of the potential crisis, Campeggio had been angered and frustrated by how uncommunicative the supernatural world was. He had wondered if there was any way to prevent bloodshed and calm the situation down.

Terra Alani had revealed to Campeggio that the Dragon Blooded of Asia, the Chinese in particular, were on good terms with the courts of the Kuei-jin. So, again, via a roundabout chain, a meeting had been arranged. Bree, as she felt partly responsible for what had transpired, had volunteered to go and asked her circle for help in diffusing the situation.

Manny Waters, however, was tied up in D.C. He had surprised both his own party and the opposition by his Senate victory, not at easy task for a moderate in a time of rising political grandstanding. He was supposed to be on a break from his senatorial duties for the holidays, however, he had been invited to a diner at the White House by the president himself. Manny had managed to get Mary Blake invited to go along with him, hoping she could assist in his personal quest to gauge how much supernatural influence their was on national politics.

So here Bree sat in a car with Dan Walker, the computer expert, whose tactical genius had earned him a Dawn Caste Exaltation. Dan kept everyone teleconferenced on an encrypted channel he assured them that even the Dragon Blooded would find impossible to break. Manny and their Eclipse Caste, Mary, had slipped away from the party to touch base with the others. At the moment, Dan was updating the others as to how the mission was going.

Bree, meanwhile, juggled the task of listening to her circle mates and driving. It was a skill she had long honed from listening to dispatch or talking with her partner while on patrol.

"Remember, take your time, Bree, but try not to look like your taking your time," Dan said from the passenger seat.

"Right, I'll drive casual."

Dan smiled and gave her a nod approving of her recognizing the _Return of the Jedi_ reference. Dan had a laptop in front of him, video conferencing with Manny Waters and Mary Blake. It was an unusual sensation. This time last year he would have had trouble even fitting into this car, let alone having a lap on which to place his computer. With just over nine months of his own effort and support of Kai Silbern and the ladies of Manifested Services, Dan had lost right at one hundred pounds. The difference in his appearance was more dramatic as he had built muscle while doing so. While still a large man, he was in better shape than he had ever been.

He was doubly grateful that the treatments the Dragon Blooded had given him had prevented much of the sagging skin he had worried he would otherwise had been left with after such extreme weight loss. If you knew were to look, you could see some loseness, but it wasn't pronounced.

"To think, Manny, you're missing all of the pleasant sights of San Diego's vampire infested Chinatown for dinner at the White House," Dan said with a snark in his voice.

"It's the Asian Pacific Thematic Historic District," Bree said, without a trace of irony in her voice.

"Whatever, it's freaking Chinatown."

"I think the 'pleasantness' of the conversation will depend on what the President wants to talk about. I have a feeling my reelection caught a lot of people in the political world by surprise. Of course, having Mary with me helps. The man has daughters who've read her books," Manny admitted.

"The power of Exaltation tends to surprise people," Bree said flatly. She was unsure of how she felt about what her circlemates were doing in D.C. or Manny's position of power in the United States government. She consoled herself with the idea that she knew Manny was an honest man and not the sort to intentionally cheat the democratic system. She wondered how a democratic government would survive having people who were born or anointed into having powers that literally made them better than everyone else.

She had voiced her concerns to Manny before he left. He argued that it was no different that being born with wealth, intelligence or any other natural aptitude. He proposed that the key to democracy was that, despite any gift you were born or bestowed with, you were answerable to the people. The argument was a good one and she accepted it provisionally. She was not yet sure if she had worked out all its implications well enough to accept it fully.

"Well, it's not going to be as exciting or dangerous as meeting with ghostly spirits escaped from hell to become vampiric revenants bent on ruling the night, but hey I'm a sci-fi author, not fantasy writer," Mary's voice joked from the laptop.

Dan smiled at his circle mate. The tall slender brunette was dressed for a formal dinner. The clothes as well as the fact she was wearing contacts rather than the glasses she sported on the back cover of her books transformed the children's author into a stunning beauty rather than an eighth grade school teacher. Not that Dan minded her book cover look. He'd been fond of his eighth grade school teacher.

"Is that the all clear, Dan?" Bree asked, interrupting his internal thoughts.

With a startled twitch, Dan checked the blinking text in the other window. He had not heard it chime. "Oh! It is! Oh, yeah! Hey, we have to go. You guys be careful."

"Us? Be careful? Sure, you know politicians are much more dangerous than vampires," Marry quipped as she and Manny signed off.

Bree passed the Chinese Historical Museum and pulled into a parking lot just beyond it. Once she had a space, she turned to Dan. "This isn't the sort of danger you're use to Dan. I know you've negotiated contracts for your services before, but there is a very real element of physical danger here. We both have the be alert."

"I can do this, Bree. Working with the rest of the circle these last few weeks has been great. I'm not going to louse it up now with a lack of attention."

"That's the spirit. Just remember no one ever intends to screw up, Dan. For what it's worth, I think we'll do alright," Bree said, taking the lead as she exited the cab and headed out of the parking lot and crossed the street to the Museum.

Two men in suits eyed them. They opened the doors and allowed them entry. The men turned expectantly.

"We're both armed and will remain so. You are armed and will remain so. This is the only equitable arrangement and what we agreed on," Bree said firmly.

"We have six men armed with submachine guns each also carries a pistol both are 9mm. Ming Xiao needs no weapons. Might we ask what weapons you bring?"

"A Browning .45 calibre and a knife," Bree said, steel in her voice.

"My mind and the power within are all I require," Dan said, somewhat less resolutely.

"Come, Ming Xiao awaits. Follow us," the guard instructed.

They were lead to the gallery's main exhibit room where Ming Xiao sat at a large table.

"Welcome Solars. It is my delight to speak with such august individuals."

"Greetings Ming Xiao. I am pleased you chose to meet with us. We are grateful to find someone who feels as we do that peace is preferable to war," Bree said warmly as both celestials took their places at the table opposite of the Kuei-jin.

"Peace is not always preferable to war. To believe so is a grave mistake," Ming Xiao countered.

"Indeed. I can think of several cases where a war would be preferable to peace. For example, to leave an evil in place to grow powerful would be a mistake. To allow an ally to fall to ruin due to a misguided attempt to forestall conflict would be cowardice," Dan said in agreement.

"Surely you do not wish to war on us however?" Bree asked.

"That would depend on who you mean by _us_ , Solar. The Exalted are hardly unified. The Dragon Blooded have agreements with their own kind to labor in support of each other, but form alliances on a local scale. Through them and our own myths we know of the Solar, Lunar and Sidereal Exalted, but you have claimed no territory, formed no courts and hold little power. You are infants in the world of the supernatural. You have power but you are ignorant of how to use it," Ming Xiao said.

"You're seeking to put us on a defensive footing. You took this city because it was weakened. The Cainites of Los Angeles fear your power growing here, their fear sends shock waves throughout the supernatural world and could trigger a widespread multi-front war. However, to the south, is the Sabbat who will seek to take back this city. Your previous ventures into California showed you have little regard for human life and the Sabbat lacks even that level of compassion for humanity. Rather than chaos everywhere, we propose a truce at these borders. You come no further north and in exchange, we give aid to the Kuei-jin host in warring south and eliminating any Sabbat attempt to take this city back, and perhaps even expanding your holdings at their expense," Dan said, setting his laptop on the table and turning it to be seen, where it displayed a detailed map of the proposed border.

"We do not make deals with cursed children of the murderous shepard. You have no true power and come to bargain on behalf of parasites. So unseemly for those who were once kings,' Ming Xiao sneered with distaste.

"We came here on behalf of the humans who live in Los Angeles, not the vampires," Bree exclaimed.

"If that is all you have, then we have nothing left to discuss. Escort them out," she ordered her men.

The men moved to take the two Solars by the arm. Bree and Dan both leapt up, their chairs falling back in their haste to rise. The guards went for their guns. Bree's hand went to her weapon and Dan's hand filled with golden fire that formed a blade of sunlight. Ming Xiao smiled as she prepared to tell them not to be foolish when she felt a ring of metal pressed into the back of her head where the base of the skull met the neck.

"And just where did you come from?" Ming Xiao asked without turning around.

"Prague originally, but I move around a lot," said a female voice with a very slight Czech accent.

Bree gave the Kuei-jin and the woman behind her a disappointed look. "Behind you is our circle mate, Natalia Evans, who is quite prepared to sever your head from your body with that 12 gauge. Now I grant you that will not advance our diplomatic efforts, however, it seemed you were not willing to listen so killing you would send a powerful message to whomever they sent here next."

"Violence does seem to be a universal language. For those who are willing to speak it," Ming Xiao admitted giving Bree a coy smile.

"Don't mistake my love for lawful civility for cowardice. If killing you saves more lives than talking to you so be it," Bree said with a frown.

"You have me at an impasse. You see our problem is an ideological one. Transformation into a Cainite curses the soul of those who are changed, removing them from the cycle of reincarnation. Our quest here is a holy war to eradicate the Cainites and spare anyone with even a drop of Asian blood from their curse. Negotiating with them, even with the Celestial Exalted speaking on their behalf is not an action that would be tolerated," Ming Xiao explained.

"What if that wasn't what you were doing? What if another court forbid you hunting in their territory?" Dan offered.

"There is no one to negotiate with. The Dragon Blooded of MSI are too far north to claim such territory. So is the Fae Empress of San Francisco. Remington Spectre and Alex Silbern moved to New Orleans setting up their allies as a court there. The Cainites are the only unified supernatural beings in the area. Before you ask, no, the three of you do not form a court alone."

Bree pondered to herself for a moment. "But we might be the start of one. Give us six months. Consolidate your holdings here and build your defenses while we form a court you can negotiate with."

Ming Xiao stared, seemingly unconcerned about the gun behind her or the two celestials ready to slay her guards. She asked herself that most important question: Was the goal here worth the price she had to pay to achieve it?

"I can give you ninety days, beyond that I promise nothing."

Bree lowered her gun. Dan's sword remained in hand but he relaxed from his fighting stance. Ming Xiao felt the ring of metal recede from the back of her head.

"Good, then it seems we will not be killing each other today," Natalia said stepping away.

Ming Xiao had not recognized the name but she did the face. The girl was a tennis player or was until this last fall when she'd retired. She was tan with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was a bit shorter than Bree at 5' 8". She was less broad about the shoulder, but her hips were wider. She was wearing a kind of tight athletic jumpsuit with a billed cap and leather jacket. Her hair was in a ponytail that was pulled back through the hats snapback. She was armed with a semi-automatic combat shotgun.

"What do we need minimum to qualify as a court?" Dan asked.

"Enough Shen, beings of supernatural power, that there is always a presence in the territory. I would say ten beings in total none of them could be Cainites, however, nor their ghoul servants. Ghosts are also not in the lands of flesh enough to count unless they are Risen," Ming -Xiao explained.

"Should be easy enough. I live there. I know another who lives in L.A. and could get a few Hunters," Bree mused.

"They must also be united in a common cause so only some of the Hunters will be useful. They are quite quarrelsome as I recall. It is too confining in here. The night air is much better. Come, let's go into the gardens," Ming Xiao said slyly.

"The Dragon Blooded Reiko is moving to Los Angeles. I could get a place in L.A. Can't crash at MSI forever after all. With me, you and...umm...that other Dawn Caste," Dan said unstadily.

"If you speak of Kashi Kimura, I would wonder if he will be staying in Los Angeles," Ming Xiao said mysteriously as she headed out into the elegant gardens.

"What do you mean?" Bree asked, wondering if it was some sort of threat.

"Refreshments?" Ming Xiao offered, waving her hand at a tray of snacks.

"How do you know that name?" Bree asked, refusing to be distracted.

"His great-grandfather informed me of a lost Kimura who had ascended to great power, but not as a Hakken. The elder Kimura has very recently dispatched some of his clan to make contact with the boy and try to get him to return with them to the primary Kimura estate in Japan. They should be arriving any day now. The family calls home the son of their wayward scion," Ming Xiao said with an aloof air.

"I doubt Kashi would ever perminaly leave L.A. Even if he did, we'll find the numbers we need, so you need not fear for us, Ming Xiao," Bree said.

Two other men stepped out of the shadows. Bree and Dan braced for an attack, but neither made a hostile move. Both the newcomers and their host seemed suddenly distracted. They had turned and were looking northward as if listening.

"What's, uh, going on here?" Dan asked.

"I hear something, faintly, on the wind. A call to come. A cry that something extraordinary has happened. Ghosts and demons of the underworld alike are joining in with the song," Ming Xiao said

Natalia nudged Bree and pointed up. In the sky every star in the heavens had vanished even the Moon had disappeared.

"That seems...less than ideal," Dan said, biting his lip.

There was only one person Bree knew of that could cause a disaster of this magnitude, no matter how absurd it was to blame him. Without thinking, she blurted out the first thought that came to her. "Oh, my God, Kashi! What have you done!?"

* * *

Rayner Estate

Santa Cruz, California

11:15 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Harold Adams teleported into the sprawling estate Rayner maintained. He was rather surprised to find he had come out near the gardener's shack, not the guard post at the front of the drive.

Different units of elite technicians were milling around the building looking restless. Glancing about, Harold could see the forces he'd rounded up that had already arrived. Ahead of him the large garage doors leading into the gardener's shack (which was the size of some houses) were open. Inside, the shade, was Rayner, the Alpha unit, Tonya Knox, that mercenary scum DeAngelo, and his pet wolf gathered around a table.

The fact that a heretic, a reality deviant and a freak lab accident had been accorded more comfortable places to stand than some of his men did not sit well with Harold. It was more proof of the Old Man's degenerating jugement.

"Harold! About time you made it here. Looks like you're pulling up last. What held you up?"

"I have a report of forces gathering at the site of a weak point in the fabric of our dimension not far from New Orleans. If there's an apocalyptic attack planned for the city tonight why would the Seventh Sons forces linger in the path. I think we have to seriously consider the news your agents brought us illegitimate. It is a diversion to pull us away from the site of their main attack. We should forget these summoners and shift our forces to New Orleans, If the Sons strike there we would be better served being in place to destroy whichever force remains after weakening the other," Harold explained.

"Nonsense. We've verified some of the ritualists involved here at the Los Angeles site. There has not been this many high ranking reality criminals joined in one place in twenty years. If we need to plan another operation to clean another nest out we will cross that bridge when we reach it."

"The Sons likely have a ward or some bait to direct the Dragon. There is a Black Spiral Dancer caern about where you're indicating so, odds are good that's the location where they've chosen to gather. They could have secured the location and bunkered down to await the Dragon destroying their enemies for them. These cultist are like crows gathering to pick at a battlefield after the slaughter has happened. Being able to pick of the weaken and take trophies from the dead after such a big slaughter would be a big feather in the cap to these lunatics. I wouldn't be surprised to find someone printing T-shirts for the survivors," Mike quipped.

Harold glared at the irreverent mage. The Alpha Unit, however, spoke up before anyone else could speak up. "Adams hasn't heard the plan."

Rayner nodded but did not speak. He gave a wave to Tonya who seemed surprised to have the floor. Everyone gave her their attention, save the werewolf, Axe, who was poking about the shed examining the tools. Although, DeAngelo's attention was on her postier as she was wearing a skin tight advanced stealth suit.

Tonya, who was focused on her duties, barely paid the mercenary any mind. She gestured at the table around which they had gathered. In the center, a hologram of the location of the assault point appeared; a cavern under Griffith Park. She gestured to it again and as she spoke indicators for the various teams lit up.

"The plan is pretty simple. It's a modification of a standard double ring assault plan. The less well equipped units who can be passed of as conventional forces form a ring facing outside and deflect any reinforcements from joining the enemy, while also handling curious civilians and conventional rescue and response personal.

The technicians and enhanced troops will, meanwhile, form an inner ring within the cavern itself and press inwards to the core, letting no enemy slip past them. A small reserve will be here between rings able to move back and forth to either side should it be required for reinforcements. That being said, select forces not used to functioning as a unit will act as head hunters killing commander and supporting units."

"I have two issues: first, the head hunters will be in the way of the inner ring. Who is on this headhunter team and why can't they just take a place in the inner ring line?" Harold questioned

"DeAngelo, his pet - I mean the werewolf, Agent Black, myself, and Director Rayner," Tonya explained.

Harold was disgusted. It seemed the old bastard was giving all the misfits and rejects a free hand. The inclusion of the obvious spy the council had sent to deflect attention away from Harold's own more covert efforts to undermine Rayner was curious. Perhaps he sought to end her life during the conflict? However, Rayner putting himself in the front lines was even more worrisome. Harold had no idea what mischief that was setting up.

"I don't think it's appropriate for the Senior Director to endanger himself like that. Surely you're needed to manage the overall battle."

"I have you for that, Harold. You will stay with the reserve and coordinate the battle," Rayner ordered.

"I'm your subordinate. I should _not_ be in command. You are the ranking member of the Union."

"Nonsense. You know the men on the line better and can, at a glance, give a more accurate decision based on that. While I will be needed at the front if this operation goes pear shaped. It will require all of my power and concentration to face a Dragon," Rayner explained.

Seeing the Old Man had his mind set, Harold gave him a curt nod of acceptance. Tonya was busy eyeing the werewolf who was still picking at the tools. She finally spoke up. "Are you alright? Do you need to go outside or something?"

"Just looking at these tools. Don't recognize the brand,." Axe said.

"Looking at the Ochsenkopf? It's a damn fine axe. The company's been around longer than some countries," Rayner said without looking away from the central map.

"Actually, I'm looking the long handle Stihl bush hook. They're good for pulling people out of formation," the werewolf said.

"Are you seriously browsing a gardening shed for weaponry?" Tonya asked in surprise.

"If it will keep you out of trouble, you can have whatever you wish to use in the battle. I don't think a few tools are going to break me," Rayner said with an eye roll.

"Now we're arming them?" Harold spat in disgust.

Rayner turned and locked a soul piercing gaze on Harold. "We're in a tool shed, Adams. I hardly think any of its contents are a security risk. If they were, we'd have men posted at every hardware store. What was your second issue?"

"How accurate is this map? Have we scouted this location?" Harold asked.

To Harold's surprise it was the heretic DeAngelo who spoke up. "I created it from memory but I spent enough time in that shit hole to remember it all."

"Now _that_ I didn't know," Rayner said raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, well, the New Orleans cartel used to be around here. They started eradicating the Black Spirals. A powerful Fae from San Francisco found out and joined them. She used the instability of the Griffith Park Black Spiral Dancer Caern to break into Arcadia and gain whatever weird powers they have now. She then started a court devoted to peaceful coexistence with man or some lovey feel good hippy crap. The 'Seven' as they were called, wanted to ward and guard it against future misuse. The Black Spirals had been defeated, but they knew the corruption and instability ran deep. It would call Black Spirals back like shit calls flies. At the time, I was on their payroll so I worked with their other Mages to ward and trap that shithole. You know to keep the Black Spirals from returning."

"Well, it looks like you did a hell of a job," Tonya chided.

"Fuck that. Given enough time and effort any wards would fall and anyone who cared enough to maintain them moved out. The alarms likely signaled the local Hunters. They'd have been warned to check on the place, but they they the attention of a cranky five year old, so I'm sure the Sons just drilled through the wards and got right to the heart. Despite all we did to fix the place there are some things that are beyond repair. It's a wound in the world that will not heal. It was worse we think the weakness was wider something tore the fabric of the worlds of the living and dead apart in Hollywood there's a shadowland there that leaks enough Necrotic power to keep raising the entire graveyard it's in."

"Interesting," Rayner said, as he pondered this new information.

"Yes, interesting, but not truly relevant to our current objectives. Does anyone have anything else to contribute to this plan?" Tonya asked trying to return the conversation to the imminent battle.

"Other than a reminder to please refrain from shooting our contractors, I think we're good," Rayner said.

Harold gave a curt nod.

WIth no other interjections, Tonya began the countdown. "Synching teleportation fields. Transport in 3...2...1…"

With that, everyone blinked out of existence.

* * *

The cavern was a complex location. Bleed over from the spirit world had reshaped and twisted its layout. The entire place was a mass of spiraling, chaotic features complete with tunnels snaking down to walkways spiraling up to meet each other forming platforms over pits that looked like frozen whirlpools of stone.

It was in the middle of such a platform, over the largest pit in the caern, that the Seventh Sons plied their magic. They sought to draw the Zmei Dragon with incantations, mad faith and blood sacrifice. It had to be as mighty a call as could be made to summon forth the most powerful being they knew how to draw.

The landscape of the spirit world was not like the landscape of the physical world. Pathways formed and broke over multiple dimensions. Navigation, even for the powerful, could be difficult without guidance. Much of the Seventh Son's work was creating a "breadcrumb trail," a path of sweet morsels that the Dragon could follow to further reward.

The basics of the ritual were already complete; the hard work of trailblazing a path through the chaos of the spirit world was done. That was the magic that required finesse. Ahead was the brute force part of their task. They'd be infusing energy into the unholy circle of power used as a gateway.

That process had only begun when empty space around the cavern filled with the mustered soldiery of the Technocracy. The acting high priest was an Awakened Mage himself. He raised a shield of mystic power just as he felt Claus Rayner's psionic might slam into the center of the ritual area. Space and time began to warp and twist as Claus sought to compress the Seventh Son's leadership into some form of matter unsuitable to sustain life.

The monstrous forms of those Fomori and other possessed thralls pressed back, trying desperately to gain time for the ritualists to finish their work. Tonya, cloaked by her stealth field and armed with a laser guided charged particle emitter rifle, scrambled over some rocks to an overlook where she could send technology conjured beams of lighting through the bodies of those who coordinated resistance. It irked her that she was slower than she had been as a field agent. Hitting the gym was well and good, but she could tell she had lost some of her edge having been out of the field for so long.

Displaying a coordination honed by years of practice, the mercenaries worked like a well oiled machine. Surprisingly, Mike lead the way. He was wreathed in a constellation of glowing charms that floated around him, a ward of spiritual power that repelled those who were corrupted by dark energies. This defensive ward left him free to unleashed fire, lighting and blazing beams of white light on his foes. Behind him, Axe used his improvised polearm to finish off the injured or disrupt those who attempted to band together and resist.

Agent Black waded through the sea of foes. He had the foresight to realize that he would be plunging head first into a pitched, close quarters battle. As such, he had configured the armor generated by his power core for maximum defense. He had replaced his slashing blades with an augmentation to his fists that gave them the force of sledgehammers. He then added to this a shockwave effect that sent his foes flying with every strike. He laid into the bulk of the enemy force. He was more concerned with disrupting a counter strike than seeking out individual high priority targets, unlike his comrades.

Harold, meanwhile, remained aloof from the combat. His job was to judge the ebb and flow of the battle. He issued orders in a drill sergeant like bark. Outside of the caverns things were going well. There were definitely more foes here than he'd anticipated. This was proving to be much more than the wild goose chase he thought it would be. He noticed, with disgust, the enemy was passing their own wounded, as well as any fallen foes they could lay their hands on, to the center where the ritualist made short work of them.

As Harold turned in revulsion, he was suddenly aware of a new danger. Without warning and without beckoning, untamed spirits began to manifest in the cavern; a symptom of the weakening divide between worlds. While uncontrolled and hostile to both Seventh Sons and Technocracy alike, they proved more a danger to the Technocratic assault. The natural corruption and taint of the Seventh Sons served as a sort of spiritual camouflage and helped shield, however slightly, them from the spirit's notice.

DeAngelo and the Alpha Unit seemed to have no trouble striking back against the new arrivals. Both had come well prepared for the task of dealing with spiritual beings. Tonya evaded them and continued her sniper-like attack on any who showed command potential. The spirits who dared draw too close to the Old Man's battle found themselves shredded with barely a notice or syphoned into the Aura of the Seventh Son's leader to fuel his flagging resistance to Rayner's might.

It was then that Harold noticed an even more disturbing trend. The ritualist in the center were cutting and slicing their own flesh. The blood of the cultists was driving the spirits insane with greed and hunger. DeAngelo's pet wolf was trying to pull the cultists out of their circle with the hook end of his pole axe. It was having little effect and the spirit's frenzy only increased. DeAngelo himself was chanting some vile ritual that sounded of blood magic.

Not willing to see more of his men used to fuel such dark rituals, Harold called up a mortar strike. The shell would explode with a power that would align the spiritual and physical world and allow his men to strike back at the horde of spirits who were running rampant. As the shell launched the Old Man glanced from his battle and shouted out at them.

"Adams! NO!"

It was too late. The shell exploded, bathing the area in a dimensional flux meant to synchronize the disparate layers of reality, rendering both worlds one. It allowed the spirits to more easily affect the mortal beings, but that was more than offset by the weapons the Technocracy had brought, which were now much more effective.

Rayner's objection to this tactic were almost immediately obvious. The ritual circle of summoning now had one less layer of reality to break through, and that layer had been the strongest one. The Trod came open, connecting the edges of the spirit world to its depths. From that dark depths rushed the leviathan form of the Zmei Dragon.

Rayner's foe broke off his defense and pushed all the power he could into the warp in the spirit world. As Rayner's power compressed his flesh into a dissolving mass of short lived particles, he saw, for the briefest moment, the eyes of the dragon. He died knowing success was inevitable.

The beast pushed its head forward out of the rift. Even bolstered by shields of enlightened science and rigorous training, the minds of the men who were firing into the mass of spirits snapped. Their sanity was broken like twigs unable to stand up to the gale force of the Zmei Dragon's almost incalculable power. The Dragon had yet to even notice their presence. Its eyes locked on the dying leader of the Seventh Sons and consumed the power it offered up along with his life.

Agent Black activated all of his subsystems and charged with an explosion of power. Chains and gears of immaterial light formed around him. In his armor, which was blacker than the blackest night, a miasma of shrieking, inhuman souls forced to labor in these dire engines of extinction manifested. Cursed from the moment they schemed against their master, imprisoned for uncounted eons in the Soulsteel that made up the Alpha Unit's power core, they cried out silently, warning against defiance of the Primordial of the Forge and his creations.

As Black charged, Tonya pushed her particle beams reactor to the limit of containment and fired a beam straight into the closest eye of the enormous foe. Her aim was true and artificial light and lighting struck a hammer blow into the pupil of the colossal beast.

Blinded and stung by the sudden flare, the dragon did not see the being that hammered into its jaw with a force that would level most buildings. So undeniable was the blow's power, the dragon's huge head snapped back, facing straight up, rather than at the platform it had been staring at.

Rayner gathered himself and, with all the considerable telekinetic might he could muster, pushed down, trying to force the enormous entity back into the rift. Sweat broke out on his brow as he pushed as hard as he possibly could against his foe. In desperation, he called deeply on his reserves of mystical might. He knew if this being was not stopped here, it would not be stopped at all.

Adams looked on in shock. His mortar team were vomiting as foam filled their eyes. They were rolling around and thrashing wildly as their minds turned to jelly from the strain of the horror that had emerged before them. Desperately, Adams looked about and found a low yield atomic RPG. He snached up the weapon and ran. He would find a good spot and fire into the creature's gaping gullet.

Axe fought the mounting rage building inside him. He needed clarity. He needed a plan. The wolf was fierce, but wolves survived because they worked as a pack. They attacked with a purpose. Weak points and distraction tactics. These were the pack's hallmarks. There had to be something he could do to fight this thing. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a face. A woman clad in silver smiling sadly at him. He had seen her once before. He had been here delving deep into the spirit world with Alex Silbern. At the time he had not believed who she claimed to be.

Axe fell to his knees and invoked a prayer to Luna, for she had told him that, as a boon for his service, once in his life, he might call upon the greatest of her gifts. A silver light emanated from his body as he invoked the presence of Luna herself. What the silver light touched was bolstered. The minds of the soldiery snapped back into place, healed and were made resolute against the unnatural horror before them. The powers of those fighting the Zmei Dragon were enhanced and where the power of the dragon had pushed out like a great storm of horrific energy, now this gentle silver light pushed back like a stream un-rippled on the surface but insurmountable in its quiet current.

The immortal dragon-horror suddenly knew fear. This was the force of a Celestial. Even channeled through another, this was no power to trifle with. Blind in one eye, it spun its head gazing about for the source of this power. Again, a hammer blow struck its jaw and lightning flashed out for its eyes. The unrelenting pressure forcing it down back into the rift would not abate. It roared in defiance and then, suddenly, something exploded in its throat like a burning star.

It clung, stubborn in its power, sure it need only find and silence the wellspring from which Luna's power flowed. Between the lightning flash spots in its vision it saw the kneeling wolf. He was alone, save for one man with a staff. The mighty serpent lunged for the kneeling figure.

Mike looked up into the jaws of death. He had been trying to recite the Seventh Son's rites backwards to undo their work, hoping the Old Man could get that massive head back through the portal allowing it to close. It seemed that just wasn't happening.

In that moment, Agent Black, rushing with a speed that defied belief, struck the Dragon's jaw again. It proved a momentary distraction and the dragon snapped and bit down on the armored form. Shaking Black like a dog worrying a rabbit it tossed him aside.

Momentarily, Mike thought of running. Using the distraction to flee, but he tossed that thought aside. He wasn't running, let alone leaving Axe. Knowing what it might cost him, he raised the staff of the DeAngelos before him and into it he poured all of his remaining power. He then recited the words none of his forebears had said more than once.

"In the beginning there was Void and Darkness, but the spirit of God moved in the Darkness and the Voice of God called out. Let there be Light!" As he spoke the staff began to glow and hover on its own, unsupported, as Mike's hand released it.

The Staff was created not by the first DeAngelo but his wife, a fellow Awakened. She, however, believed in what was to become the Celestial Chorus. She believed the power of their awakening was a gift from God to be used with his blessing. Her husband believed that such power was from within from being made in the image of God to be used as one willed. The staff, the physical synthesis of their differing beliefs united, had been further empowered by every Awakened mage or hedge sorcerer to wield it.

The light grew until there was nothing of the staff to be seen. It was then that the light took physical form, the very form that once adorned the stop of the staff: a luminous angel. As the dragon lunged again it found the image formed of light was solid and unyielding. Its top jaw grasped by one hand while its bottom mandible was pinned by a foot. Sword raised high, the image of Saint Michael stabbed his sword deep into the roof of Dragon's mouth.

Around the room, ghostly images of all the staff's previous wielders chanted in unison words of banishment and warding against evil. Mike chanted with them knowing this very well could be his time to join them forever.

"STRIKE NOW! WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!" Rayner screamed as blood gushed from his nose. He was straining to control the power he wielded. He was turning his telekinetic blows from a shove to a clenched fist.

Dripping blood, Black charged again, this time leveling a strike to the back of the Dragon's head to drive its flesh down deeper on the glowing angel's sword blade. Adams fired again, hurling his last atomic RPG down the creature's open throat. Tonya also fired at the long forked tongue that sought to enrap the angelic being's legs. Each attack was bolstered by the silver light and therefore struck true.

The Dragon's eyes rolled back and the sword punctured into the brain. It could not dissipate back into the spirit realm, the worlds were still united. It could not pull back into the rift for the Angelic form held its jaws. Those jaws snapped shut. Despite the magnitude of damage the creature had sustained, its teeth shredded the form of the Angel of Light. Its broken form exploded even as the atomic grenade erupted deep with in the beast. Its flesh was lit from within as the twin explosions seared its flesh to the point even its scales could not contain the power. It exploded with a blast that only Rayner's telekinetic might stopped from slaying everything in the chamber.

The spectral D'Angelo's vanished and, in front of Mike, the twisted, melted ruins of the staff clattered to the ground as he fell next to it like a stringless puppet.

Rayner pulled a pocket square out and touched the blood flowing from his nose. "Tonya see the men out of here. Black, get yourself to medical before you bleed out, man. Adams, you hold up we're are going to talk in a minute."

As everyone moved to see about the orders given Rayner hiked down from the ledge he had been on throughout the battle. He closed with the werewolf and mage.

"If it had not been for you, many of our men would have never recovered. I don't know what power you called up, but I cannot argue with its effects." He placed a hand on Mike's shoulder "I'm sorry you had to destroy such a precious family heirloom. I know nothing can replace it, but I owe you a very large favor."

"I just want to go home for now. I'm tapped out. I don't even... I can't even process what's happened here right now."

Axe gave a simple, silent nod of agreement.

"I'm fairly tapped out myself, but luckily, that's why we have external sources of power. Stand close, gentlemen. I'll send you home."

With a few taps on his phone, Rayner waved the device at them and they both vanished.

"That staff was locked in the vaults. How did he get that?" Adams asked as he joined Rayner.

"I gave it to him in exchange for the work he did in Canada. Don't try to change the subject, Adams. You almost got everyone killed," Rayner said frowning.

"I don't see how any of that is relevant. I took actions in the best of faith with the data available at the time. Our men needed the ability to strike back. That my actions had an unforeseen repercussion are not my fault. It's a symptom of the unpredictable nature of battle."

"You didn't know that lowering the division between the spirit world and physical world would make a summoning ritual easier? No, I think even a buffoon would realize that. I think you either didn't believe they were summoning a Zmei Dragon or you didn't think the being was as powerful as the stories said. Your negligence in not taking your enemy seriously blinds you to the dangers they can represent."

"You say _I_ am blind to the dangers of our enemies, but you gave a powerful relic that functions at odds to the consensus of reality back to a dissident Willworker who could have used it against us! Neither he nor his pet wolf should have walked out of here alive!"

"So, your blindness also extends to not being able to see the opportunities to use our enemies against each other or seduce them to our side? These actions are forgivable in a field agent, but inexcusable in someone in command. Effective immediately you're on suspension from all duties. Tonya will take over the directorship in the interim until I can present my findings to the Council and have them sign off on your official replacement. You had better hope they have a position for you on Autochthon because you're through here on Earth. If they won't take you I'm busting you down to field agent," Rayner barked, his face reddening in anger at his subordinate's defiance.

Rayner turned to ensure the rift was fully sealed. From above, cloaked, Tonya had returned. She had stopped when she heard the beginnings of their argument. She was stunned. Months ago she might have agreed with Adams, but Harold had shown his butt several times while the Old Man had handled things quite well, this assault in particular. She gasped in shock as Harold, rather then storm out, drew his sidearm and fired right into the Old Man's back. However, he did not fall.

"Really, Harold? In the back? I expected you to at least have enough decency to wait until I turned around." The Old Man's arm was held behind his back. Neither Harold nor Tonya had seen him move. In his hand was an old German officer's saber.

"You're tapped out. You said so yourself. How did you pull that off!?" Adams exclaimed.

"Well, Harold, in my youthful explorations of my power, I deeply imbued this saber to the point it's grown to resonate with my psionic might. It's been with me so long that the resonance is wholly self sustaining."

"You mean you enchanted it you, son of a bitch!"

"We're not all born into the Order. The updated beliefs have given me cause to use it again."

You're still tapped out," Harold said, pulling free his cell phone to activate its force field generator while raising his gun to fire again.

Tonya had heard that the elder Willworkers on both sides of the Tradition-Technocrat divide, once they passed a normal human level of enlightenment, which took more than a human life span, began to bend and shape their own personal reality. That is to say they would develop their intellect, wisdom even perception to levels of inhuman power. With a quickness that proved it could be done with one's body, Rayner started to move. First he leapt to the side, faster than Harold's gun could track. His blade flashed out, striking the cellular phone. Its screen shattered as its case and circuits were sliced in two. Harold leapt backward, dropping the shattered device as he sought distance and time to react.

Tonya dived, looking for a weapon to intervene in the battle, but before she could rise and get a bead on a target, Rayner had struck out with his blade, but that was a feint. He struck Harold's right arm with a left handed blow that shattered the ulna and radius. Harold screamed with pain and fury. He came forward too far inside Rayner's reach for the enchanted sword to strike. He punched the Old Man as hard as he could. He aimed for the eye, but the Old Man's speed was still to great even at this close range and the blow hit the cheek bone. Tonya paused. The two men were so close she could get a clear shot at neither.

Rayner gave Harold a cocksure grin that Tonya couldn't place but that invoked the strangest _déjà vu._ A second left handed strike removed the gun from Harold's previously numbed hand. Rayner then pulled back, swinging his sword back into place to strike. Harold tired to block with his left and to spin away from the incoming blade but there was nothing for it. The sharp steel entered below the rib cage and trust up into his internal organs. Harold fell back off the curved hunk of metal to the ground.

"You know, I could have you healed. There is time to get you to a medical facility. I'm sure they could clone a new lung and liver. I could give you the dignity of a trial." Rayner reached down and pulled Harold Adams up into a sitting position and helped him place his left hand to stanch the blood from his wound. After that, the Old Man stepped back and looked down. "But, as you didn't give me the dignity of looking into my eyes as you betrayed me, however, I'm afraid that's off the table. Your execution will be summary."

With a two handed spin, he brought his blade around and Harold's head flew clear of his body.

"I hope your ready for your new duties, Tonya. I'm going to move for you to be a permanent replacement. I don't care for spies, but at least you never had the disgrace to hide what you were."

"What? How did you...?"

"Please. If I hadn't noticed you come up before, the gasp would have given it away. I would assume you came back for something more important than trying to get something juicy to send back to Autochthon?"

"Outside...sir. There is some sort of celestial event. The stars and even the moon has vanished!" Tonya explained.

"Orbital objects?" Rayner asked while putting his sword away into his space fold.

"Everything beyond the lunar band is out of contact."

Rayner frowned and looked away lost in thought. After a second he began to rub his temple with his right index and middle finger. Tonya had learned it was a sure sign he was troubled.

"I have a team in L.A. working on something important. Check their status. It seems I'm going to be delayed again in dealing with that situation. Send word to the global offices. I want hourly reports starting immediately. We are going to max readiness regardless of results."

"You think this is an invasion?"

" make the heavens vanish, that is beyond the strength of any foe of ours. Power of this magnitude, if it was directly leveled against us, would be unstoppable. It smacks of a natural phenomena. However, I don't doubt opportunism among our foes or even panicked assaults due to their own misjudgements of its cause are out of the question. Preparation for multiple large scale problems is only prudent. Remember, Tonya, not only are you passing on my will, but you have to see to Harold's work as well."

"Of all the times for him to turn traitor."

"It was likely for the best. He was too rigid in this thinking to handle a real crisis. Besides, they're not losing much. You were always the better spy for the Council."

"Wait, you knew about that?"

"Of course. That's why I kept you so close. That way I knew everything you found out and what was getting reported. I have to admit, there have been a few times you forced me to have to scramble a bit. Keeps me on my toes, so no harm done really. Come, let's get to it. Time waits for no one."

Shaking her head, Tonya jogged after the Old Man and out of the caern.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** I had to try to get this up on Willow's birthday as it has Willows birthday! Remember this happens in 2012 when she turned 13. Feels like longer ago than it was. When I ran the games that inspired this story, 2012 was the future not the past. It's been a wild ride from there to here and I'm glad you readers have come along for part of the ride.

The last section set in Detroit might be disturbing to some readers. The character within is based on an amalgam of real victims of abuse. I hope that if you suspect any one might be the victim of domestic or child abuse you contact the authorities with information. Many times investigations that save lives are started with anonymous tips from concerned members of the public.

* * *

Kimura Home

Inglewood, California

December 20th, 2012

11:55 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Willow sat at her computer desk. She had just finished posting a few status updates to her social media profiles. She had spent the evening combing the web and chatting back and forth over the internet with a few of the girls she had tentatively befriended after the Christmas program. There was a surprising amount posted about the program and pictures taken from the party afterwards.

She had been thinking about life a lot since Thanksgiving. In particular, she'd been reflecting on her brother. The revelation of Kashi's shocking reasons for gorging himself so relentlessly and becoming so monstrously fat as a tween had made her rethink all the motives she had ascribed to him over the years. She had to build a whole new internal profile of her brother, one free of false biases. She had spent a large amount of time running through her perfect memory, re-examining events and giving new weight to the events. Kashi had come out much better now.

Other less serious thoughts also filled her wandering mind. She sat back in her chair and gazed about her room. From her perch, she could clearly see out the window. Her gaze was drawn to the large half moon that hung in the sky. Every other celestial object, save for one or two stars, was obscured by the light pollution of Los Angeles. The bare sky reminded her of her now bare room. She had come to the conclusion that redecorating was a good idea. She'd needed a makeover since she'd taken down her Jay Odele posters and memorabilia. It was likely for the best. She realized she needed to go with a more mature look. Sayuri and even Kashi were right. She was, in moments, going to be a teenager. The little girl look was _so_ out.

She smiled to herself. Yes, it might be an artificial barrier; a crude line drawn in the sand that didn't have any 'real' meaning, but she couldn't help but feel this birthday was going to be special. She felt that something important was coming with her entry into her teenage years.

Not that being thirteen officially did much to alter her life. She still couldn't drive, drink or really do _anything_ she couldn't do as a twelve year old. Still, despite all reason, the feeling was there and it was building rather than ebbing away.

The feeling kept on building. She was sure the second the clock ticked over to midnight, the feeling would break and she would feel foolish for her apprehension. Her eyes moved to the clock in the right hand corner of her monitor. That 11:59 and it seemed to stretch on forever.

Not in a figurative sense either. It literally felt like time had slowed. The feeling that something was coming had built to a smothering crescendo. It was as if a weight was pressed down on her. Within, she felt like she was swelling somehow. It was as if her body couldn't contain all the emotions that whirled inside, which, at the moment, panic was at the forefront.

Willow thought she was hallucinating. As the clock finally clicked over to midnight, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the Moon disappeared even the stars vanished. All save one. A single bright star shining straight up overhead pressing down on her with an unbearable weight. She couldn't breathe out. Her lungs were full but she had no breath. She couldn't move. She forced all her effort into trying to exhale and out came a high pitched scream.

Unseen in the mirror, a dark copy of Willow mimicked her actions. As they both screamed, the glass in the frame shattered. Both were blown backwards into each other and for the first time the two Willows touched as the borders between the world of the dead and living lowered for Calibration.

* * *

Virtual Adept Safe House

A Few Blocks Away

December 21st, 2012

12:00 AM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Every device in the safe house was blaring alarms. Greg was sputtering incoherently as he checked one device after the other. Brad was logged into Sparks' mainframe and was trying to make sense of the readings streaming across his screen. There was so much going so wrong in so many places. He had to know what was going on before he could plan out any action.

"There's no way all of these are wrong! She's ascended! What do we do?! We have nothing ready! Not really! Why her birthday? The prophecy said at turning of the calendar," Greg exclaimed at last, finally finding his words.

"I don't care about the why. Go get in the car and get her. I'll speed though the program and ready the clone," Brad ordered. Despite what he said, Brad already knew the why. When running all the information they had on the prophecy on Sparks' main computer, the first assumption it challenged was that they had connected it to the Gregorian calendar. The prophecy was about a major revelation about the nature of Awakened Magic, which was closely tied to the celestial spheres and objects within it.

The girl's birthday fell on the night of the winter solstice; the darkest day of the year where the sun's power was at its absolute lowest point, its nadir. This was the traditional end of the year based on celestial objects. The Virtual Adepts had made assumptions that now saw the girl ascend almost two weeks before they were prepared.

Brad's feeling of foreboding had been vindicated. No one else would be able to criticize his decision not to take a break. He'd worked to have everything ready at a moment's notice.

"Right. I'll call Jesse while I do. He needs to hurry back," the hipster lamented.

Brad nodded. "With any luck he'll be able to meet us enroute. I've been doing some pre-work. I had a bad feeling about all of this."

Greg opened the door and froze. Standing there with a battering ram were a pair of soldiers in black tactical ops gear. Their goggles and masks rendered them faceless, however, their body language betrayed their surprise. Greg shouted for Brad as the two soldiers dove back and down to the ground. Greg looked past them seeing four more men with automatic rifles already aimed at the door.

The panic on his face didn't have time to translate into any action as Primium laced bullets ripped through the everyday defenses he had up.

Brad had time for a single expelitive as his fingers literally blurred across the keyboard. He saw the men reflected in his screen and forced himself not to turn. He knew it wouldn't do any good. He hoped it would be over with before he could even feel it. He was, unfortunately, wrong. Wracked with pain, the light left his eyes only seconds before the light left the computer in front of him. The air hummed with electrical arcs from the small EMP that wiped its systems. One of the soldiers stepped into the room, unholstered his side arm, and, despite the very lethal damage already inflicted, shot both men in twice in the head with a solid Primium bullet. Without a word, the six men left the building and quickly mounted into a van.

One sent a message off that this side of the operation was complete. They would meet the team charged with retrieving the girl at the rendezvous.

* * *

Silbern Household

St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana

1:59 AM Central Standard Time

* * *

Jay was out back of the Alex Silbern's house pondering the events he'd just witnessed in the stars. Sayuri and Kashi had finally come together. As she was a high contender to host the Lunar Exaltation that was eternally linked to his Solar Exaltation, she was very important. Jay had been rooting for her to be the one chosen, but the Exaltations themselves made the choice and their preferences were inscrutable.

His small smile twisted in irritation as his pad froze. An error message appeared on the screen. He internally cursed. Of course the blasted device locked up now! Right when he was busy doing recalculations on his pet project. Well, it wasn't that big of a deal. He could read the stars the old fashioned way. Out here in the country he was treated to a full range of stars. It was then that Jay looked up into the sky just in time to see a brief, bright glimmer to the west. It was only for a second then the sky was wiped clean. Empty and vast, the cold blackness of night gazed down. Even the moon had been cleansed away from this blank futureless slate.

"Don! You better get out here!" Jay called out, his head locked up facing the sky.

The werewolf came out of the house. He instinctively glanced up when he saw Jay. "What's going... Hey! Where the fuck did everything go?"

"Yeah I'd like to know the same thing! You ever seen anything like this?"

"Seen? I've never **heard** of anything like this."

A siren blared. It sounded just like an old air raid siren from a movie. Jay glanced at Don. There was mild panic in the younger man's eyes. Don motioned for him to sprint to the house while he drew his pistol from his inner pants holster and covered him like a good bodyguard.

Inside the house there was chaos. Vampire and ghoul guards for the Giovanni were shouting questions. Locals were shouting back answers. Jay overheard something about securing the room and awaiting further instructions.

Jay knew who the important people here were; those with the greatest fates. He also knew what each would do. He headed to find Doc Spectre. The hunter would race to be the first to danger. Alex would, upon waking, check on his children then find Heather. She would be heading to the command center. Jay wasn't sure sure where that command center was. He knew where the Doc was, however. He found him near the meeting room leaving the Giovanni conference.

"Anything we can do to help? We're not sure what is going on, but the stars all vanished outside. My tablet that lets me look into fate when the stars aren't visible is on the fritz, but I'll do anything I can to help," Jay offered.

"Stay close and keep quiet," the Doc rumbled.

Shortly they came to what had to be the command center. Video communications equipment connected a host of sites around the eight parishes of the greater New Orleans area. Hunters, the ghoul A.W.T.E.P.S., projectors and Fera all reported in with readiness checks and situation reports.

Heather was already in the room. "Our allies in the shadow realm report the border between worlds is completely down at every haunt. Underworld beings can come and go at will. What's worse is that fissures have opened in the underworld proper leading to the labyrinthian depts. So far they're small, but packs of spectres and dark ectoplasmic beings are surging out. They're asking for aid to contain this."

"Clear the projectors from our own watch to respond and order all other forces to increase mobility to pick up the slack," Spectre said, moving to pick up a red phone that was ringing.

Heather turned and with a few quick words into her headset set it was done. Spectre, meanwhile, spoke on the emergency phone line to their ally, the Prince of Mobile. Jay watched as Spectre's face twisted in a scowl of disapproval. "How the hell did you get on this line!"

Heather turned, puzzled. The Doc gave her a hand sign. Without a question she hit a few keys and the call was on speaker.

Mike's voice filled the room. "I'm not going into all that and I can't afford to wait 'til you get around to answering my calls. If you have an ounce of self preservation you better listen. I'm too tired and too fed up to listen to a sermon or 'dad lecture' or whatever you want to call it. You are about to get hit harder than you ever have before."

"Go on. I'll listen. After that I'll judge," Doc Spectre said with a dangerous edge to his voice.

"Stick your judgement up your ass, Spectre! The Seventh Sons attempted, nearly successfully I might add, to summon a goddamn Zmei Dragon. Their plan was to shove it down your throat. They have armies gathering outside your territory. They are out for your blood. They _know_ Spectre. They were trying to call the dragon at the Griffith Park caern. They were marking the original trail. The secrets out. Do you hear me? The Seventh Sons aren't keeping it to themselves. I found a memo where they passed the secret to Pentex. Everyone who follows the Wyrm is going to be pissed off and looking for blood. They are all going to come for you. ALL of them."

"Then they know your part in it?" Spectre asked.

"Likely. Yeah. Yeah they know. Me, Axe, - yeah Doc once they kill all of you, we're up for dessert. A little chaser to soothe the burn from drinking you down."

"Come to us. We'll stand together. Somehow we'll make it."

"Just like that I'm unbanned and all's forgiven? Nah, screw that crap! I'm tired, I'm injured, and fed up with being forgiven when someone needs me."

"Fine. Wallow in self pity 'til they finish with us and come for you."

"Fuck you! You're lucky I even bothered to call in a warning to you self righteous pricks."

The line went dead. Heather frowned at Spectre. Her pale complection had turned even whiter. A noise came from the doorway and Jay was surprised to find Alex standing there. For someone so large he could move quietly.

"Jesus Christ, Doc. If he's full of bullshit this time I'm gonna kill him. I am going to make it a special priority."

"He wouldn't be. We knew this would happen someday. We had more time than we feared just - not as much as we'd hoped," the Doc said as he pulled a cigarillo out of his pack and rolled it around in his fingers.

"Do you guys mind telling me what is going on here? If Jay's in danger by being here, I need to know how best to protect him," Don asked.

"Your best option is to get out of this city. Get as far away from here as you can. We'll start evacuating those we can soon enough," Heather said sadly.

"I want to know what is happening. I didn't see anything in fate to justify this level of fatalism. What is going on?" Jay asked with unusual amount to iron in his voice.

The group was quiet for a while. The only noise was Heather's frenetic typing as she sent out instructions via text message. The Doc had pulled out his phone. Alex looked around uncomfortably then shrugged.

"Jesus Christ, fine. I'll tell you. About eight years ago, just after all of that bullshit with the Prince of Los Angeles, I got involved in the faerie plot to reclaim Arcadia. It was some faerie glamor dream garbage about using a spot that was a natural weakness in the world itself; a bare spot in the fabric of the universe. It was in the center of the Black Spiral Dancer caern in Griffith Park. After the Fae business was over we brought in Nikki and she brought in Mike to look at this hole."

"Wait, you're going to leave out the best part? About how the fae 'empress'... the Doc began. Even in a crisis he couldn't help but needle his gigantic best friend.

"I"m telling a _serious_ story," Alex snapped.

"Alright I'll let it slide. Still funny as hell."

Alex rolled his eyes and exhaled through his nose. " _Anyway_ they figured out what it was. You see, the Wyrm was trying to break the world at its root. It had been boring a hole through time trying to reach the beginning of all things. Its plan was to end the world by stopping Genesis; a sort of 'sneak attack' no one would expect. I mean, all the Fera were prepared for some apocalyptic final battle horseshit, right? Sneaky as hell if you ask me. Now, all this started before time travel magic stopped working and as much as people would like to present the change as a lightswitch like flip it wasn't. This hole, at least the part that had bored through time, was healing but not quickly. Nikki was coming up with all sort of things she wanted to do with it. Mike was all for just burying it 'til it fixed itself and for once in my life I agreed with the little prick. That is until I...thought of something else," he admitted. The huge man normally tried to seem aloof from what he saw as the melodrama of supernatural life. It was why he usually scorned the operation center or really anything to do with the day to day running of New Orleans, but Jay could see the guilt and shame behind that aloofness. It was a mask. He just wasn't sure exactly what it was hiding.

"It was a good plan. That's why we did it," Doc interjected.

"Yeah, well, the jury's still out on that one. Let's see how many of us survive tonight," Alex said.

"Omega Code is set. Those who know the full plan are likely to head for the refugees. Those who don't have their orders and are preparing the city for war," Heather informed the others.

"What did you do?" Jay asked fearfully. Temporal tinkering ran counter to the entire web of fate. It was only the weakness of the web that allowed it in the Age of Darkness.

"Most of the problems with the Fera world started with the War of Rage. It was the werewolves' fault. We wiped out the Apis, Grondr and Camazotz completely. The damage to the Gurahl and Ratkin were severe. If this hole could break through time, we could take it back. We could undo the sins of the past and help those who were wrongfully slain," Alex said as if he was rethinking the decision.

"The rest of us realized that changing the past would produce a temporal paradox that would be devastating to say the least. However, with care, we could affect change without breaking the timeline," the Doc added.

"How?" Jay asked still worried.

"First no one ever accounts for everybody slain in a chaotic war. There were plenty of non-combatants: Kinfolk, the young, or elders who would have fallen under the jaws of the Garou. We got them out and faked their deaths. We evacuated thousands from a doomed past into the present.

"When the Garou warbands came for them they found ravaged homes and immolated pryres. Some of our fake kills were chalked up to other war bands, ritual suicide to evade execution, or a rival packs stealing the kill while others were fighting the true warriors.

"Secondly, I had made friends with Graham Halliwell, one of the Gurahl: a werebear. Their powers of healing are potent, however they could once do more. As you all know, the dead cannot be returned to life in any real way - but this wasn't always the case. The mages call it paradigm shift or whatever.

"The point is Gurahl could still work that magic in the past. So, with Graham and a few of his fellows, we also went around after some of battles ended and the Garou left. they picked a few of the slain here and there; those few most likely to understand what we were trying to do.

"Those raised from the dead were only a fraction of what we saved, but they allowed for a greater cross section of those lost breed's total population. This gave us knowledgeable Fera to train the children of the Kinfolk who would change when their time came," Alex explained. He had an introspective air about him, similar to a man looking back on what might well have been the most important work of his life.

"We fought against time. Until time ran out. We saved as many as we could from the most damaged breeds in the timeline. Here and there others joined us. You see the tribal spirits knew. They helped us shield all of this. Mason, the vampire, had been looking into moving here and he offered to help. The hurricane had damaged records. The vampires were using the bus sized holes in the bureaucracy to re-up legal identities for any vampire or ghoul who needed some fresh papers. People think we moved here to take over because the supernatural communities were in shambles. We moved here because there was no one to ask awkward questions and we could get over ten thousand ID's whipped up for people who wouldn't fit in; people we could pass off as traumatized survivors. We undid the greatest victory the Wyrm ever won. We undid the victory he gained by turning the shapechangers on each other," the Doc finished.

"The Garou killed his avatar. He might be truly dead forever, but he still has servants. Now, every ally he ever had, every corrupt spirit, every fomori, everything that marched under his banner or followed his orders will know that. They'll come to finish off those we saved and to restore the annihilation their master worked so hard for. We painted a target on us all. God help everyone we've dragged into this," Alex said.

"You will not fail. In the face of such a sacrifice you can't. If the spirits knew, Heaven knows. The fact I didn't know about this means Heaven itself must be masking your actions to prevent it from getting out to the enemy. You will not fail. I will do everything I can to help you hold the line," Jay said with passionate resolve.

"As will I," said a voice said from the corner.

Everyone turned, shocked, to find the Night Caste Jon Cole leaning on the wall in the shadowy corner. "I will see this ends. You will have to hold the line for a few days, perhaps, but their campaign against you will falter and stop."

"How are you going to do that?" Alex asked, upset at their security being so easily defeated.

"Because I am going to kill them. Not the soldiers and lieutenants. In war, orders must flow. I will follow that flow back to the commanders. I will find the men and spirits who make these decisions and I will kill them until they understand that to pursue this course is self destructive."

"Well, I for one am not going to refuse the help," the Doc said dryly.

"Nor can you. I do this for all the lives you saved once that now must be saved again. I fight for them and for the future they hold and I will fight that battle regardless of permissions. That I have you as an ally that is something worth knowing, however, and if that is what you offer I accept," Cole said dispassionately.

"Of course we're not going to roll over and die. If we must sell our lives we will take every one of those monsters we can down with us," the Doc said, annoyed.

"You don't win wars by dying for your country. You win by making some other poor son of a bitch die for his. The Russian and midget are right. We need less fatalism and more hope," Alex said.

"I"m _NOT_ a midget! But you're right about the other. When a Russian tells you to be less fatalistic, you're being really glum," Jay admitted.

"Technically, you are under the height medically defined as a midget. Keep the Giovanni safe will you? It would be a smear on my reputation if something happened to her. You will likely not see me again until this is over, but if I find anything of use to you in my hunt, I will send it your way by whatever means I can," the Night Caste said as he headed out of the room.

"Come on you two lets see if there is anything in the armory that can help you prepare." Alex said to the stunned midget and his werewolf bodyguard.

*Advance Weapons and Training for Emergency and Paranormal Situations

* * *

Hollywood Graveyard

December 21st, 2012

12:01 AM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Romero was having a beer looking for a channel that wasn't playing a Christmas movie when the graveyard rose as one. He grabbed his trusty shotgun, however, the zombies did not react as they had before in the long mutual history he shared with them.

Putting down the infrequent but unending outbreaks of zombies rising from the grave had become routine and almost boring for him. They would shamble up from the grave and slowly slog forth. At times they seemed to coordinate together to hit more than one gate at a time, but, that was rare.

This time there was no shambling. The undead moved with a purposeful stride he had never seen. The coordination was not basic. On the contrary, it was advanced. They moved almost as one. Their normally slow but strong strikes were fluid and even mightier.

Romero found the shotgun ripped from his hands. The grabbing arms of long dead corpses pulled his legs out from under him. Others took hold of his arms and brought him fully to the earth. Those undead not occupied with holding down the groundskeeper started to bite into the meat of his upper arms thighs and abdomen. Pain coursed through him as blunt human teeth began to tear at his flesh and grind nerves into ragged shreds.

The pain was so intense it seemed to tunnel his consciousness so it was all he could think about. The window to the world outside the pain was narrowing every second. Romero knew this was it. This was the end coming. When the tunnel closed, his spirit would flee his body. Only the vampire blood was keeping the long time ghoul alive and that was rapidly burning out.

Only a pinprick remained when something moved in the darkness next to him.

A deep, sonorous whisper filled his mind. It temporarily blocked out the pain. "Is this how you want it to end? Eaten by the mindless undead you spent more than a decade blasting apart?"

"No damn it! I don't want to die like a chump! I want to live, but I'm sort of stuck here. I don't see any other options," Romero shouted angrily.

"Anger won't get you anywhere, but there is a way to save yourself. I can prevent your death and save you from this horde. There is a price however..."

"What is it? I can do things for you. I have skills."

"Yes, your skills. If it wasn't for those we wouldn't be talking. The price for your life is simple: you would be robbing the grave of a life. You have to pay back the stolen time with interest. The grave hungers and you, Romero, will have to feed it."

"I've got some experience owing my ass to someone else."

"Vampires only offered you a taste of immortality. Keep the grave sated and this is the real thing. Take this bargain and your name alone will slip into the Void. You will arise rechristened. So long as there is someone else to feed into the grave you need not fear. It will never claim you again. Try to cheat it of its due, however, and it will make you wish it would let you die."

"So, no backing out?" Romero pondered this. At least being a ghoul you could chose to die.

"If you do not wish to make the deal, I'll leave you to your fate," the voice said, its presence started to withdraw and the pain, while it had not ended, flared anew.

"Alright! I'll do it! I'll take your terms. I want to LIVE!"

"I never said you would live. I said you would not die," the voice called from a distance.

Romero feared he had screwed up the deal and the voice was going to leave him. His body grew cold... then colder still. It was a cold so deep his bones hurt. Atop the cold was a hunger: a gnawing pain that sought fulfillment. Even the urge, the craving for the Vitae of his masters had never felt like this. The cold and hunger had settled in him and where once the dark tide of pain and death was sucking him down now it bore him aloft. He rose back up that dark tunnel

With an explosion of darkness so terrible and so black it made the dark, starless sky seem lighter by comparison, he re-emerged into the world of the living. The undead that continued to pour from the graveyard hastened away from the overaweing power. In the column of utter blackness an emaciated black Irish wolfhound with glowing red eyes silently bayed. Nude, the reborn man stood with flesh unmarred by the violence that had sent Romero into the underworld.

The voice made one final proclamation. "Your old self has fallen and its name is no more. Arise, Grave Hunter, Prince of the Underworld!"

* * *

Sweet Rest Inn

Inglewood, California

December 21st, 2012

12:15 AM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Banyan was double checking the account ledgers on the computer in her office. She had to get used to the idea that with was _her_ office and no longer Mr. Goya's. It was still all so new. Banyan knew from experience that Christmas could be a slow time of the year for a hotel. This may seem contrary to conventional wisdom, but many people chose to stay with their families rather than rent a place to stay. As a result, Banyan was working late trying to decide which maintenance tasks they could afford to push through before the New Year's Eve rush. That and she wanted to have off for Willow's birthday tomorrow...well today technically.

Dylan Castle was working the front desk. He was the usual night auditor. He was a college kid with dreams of becoming a history professor. The night shift was slow. It usually took him an hour or two to finish up his nightly tasks. Then he was free to do his school work or play some MMO games. The only other thing he was required to do was to make a walk around the building to make sure none of the security door were propped open and nothing was on fire. He was a fairly quiet fellow who didn't care for drama, so when he started yelling, Banyan knew something was up.

"Hey, Bany! You better come here!"

Stepping out of the office, Banyan could see there was something on the television. The ever present talking heads on the news were telling people to remain calm. "What's that all about?"

"I don't know. It seems to have started around midnight There's been some sort of stellar event. The moon and stars aren't visible from the sky and some weird things are happening. You know, mostly ghosts appearing. Man, that still gets me, you know? Ghosts and Manifested! But, anyway because this is Los Angeles, there's some sort of rioting to go along with the ghosts and stuff. The police are urging people to take shelter and stay in a safe place."

Banyan watched for a short while and then checked her cell phone. It was showing no service. It was likely no accident. It was more likely that the government had commandeered all the cellular bandwidth. The same thing happened during 9/11. Text messaging was normally left up. It was too valuable of a tool to disseminate emergency information out to people who were otherwise cut off. It would be a slow but useful pipeline.

Banyan saw there were two messages from Kashi; one said he had something important to tell her but that it needed to be face to face. The last message said he was staying late with likely ment sex. Sex also meant that he had, in all probability, taken her to a hotel. Kashi had deep enough feelings for the girl they'd have gone someplace nice, so they were likely out of harm's way if there was a riot.

Banyan did some mental math based on the time the messages were received. Sayuri would have driven. Kashi likely rode along with her. Regardless of how late he stayed up, she could normally count on Kashi to get up by a little after nine in the morning. The boy's stomach was adverse to missing meals. He never woke up too late to get a shower, get dressed and get to some place that would still be serving breakfast. He should be back home well before noon.

If there was trouble, Willow would go across the street to Nana's. That was their family emergency plan. Banyan knew Willow would be up and Nana was not a deep enough sleeper to sleep through the doorbell. Her train of thought was stopped when the landline phone rang.

Banyan picked up the phone "Sweet Rest Inn, Banyan speaking."

The crisp British Indian accented voice of Arjeet Goya poured through. "Banny! Good to hear your voice. Have you seen the news?"

"We were looking at it now. I'm a little worried. This isn't the worst neighborhood, but with the city's history of riots all it takes is one spark. This qualifies as a spark."

"Yes, well, I am pretty far out of town, Banny. As such, you will remain in charge during this crisis. The hotel's resources are at your disposal. The building has a generator and a reserve water supply. There are plenty of supplies down in the basement. I have that stockpile of food and medical supplies. All the local police, fire, and rescue personnel know our hotel is available if need be to use as a staging point for relief efforts. Get any of the staff who want to stay there to come. That goes for your family and neighbors as well. Bunker down until this blows over."

"I will. Thank you, sir," Banyan said with relief.

"Be careful out there! Remember, the hotel is insured. Your life is not so easily replaced," Arjeet said as he hung up the phone.

"Dylan! We need to do a few things to disaster proof the hotel and prepare to help anyone who tries to take shelter here if there is an emergency."

"Nope," Dylan said while zipping up the backpack he used to carry his laptop.

"What?"

"You can dock me if you want. Hell, you can fire me. I'm not staying here. My loyalty to Arjeet doesn't cover this. I'm off to a relative of a friend's house. He's kind of a crazy old mountain man but he has a good setup for laying low until all this blows over."

"Are you kidding me?! it's not even 1 AM yet! At least work half a shift before you duck out," Banyan exclaimed.

"Banny, you might be very colorblind but I am well aware of the fact we are BOTH white people in a very not white part of L.A.! While my ass has been in California for a couple years now while going to UCLA, I still sound just like what I am: a native of South Carolina. I am not waiting around for rioters to catch me, find out I'm on a scholarship they think their kid should have gotten and then have them perform what would be a deeply ironic but no doubt lethal lynching."

"I really think you'd be safer staying here than going off to stay with a crazy old hippy in the mountains."

"If Jim was a stoner-hippy like your son's boss, Leo, I'd agree, but he's more a 'Grizzly Adams' sort than that. Beside, his brother Willy and his folks live out that way too. I think you should come with me, but I know you won't. I will, however, drop off the deposit in the night drop at the bank if you want. It's likely not smart to keep that much money on hand during this mess."

"Alright. If you're set on going, fine. If you drop off the deposit I guess I can clock you out at half a shift to cover your drive time to the bank. Don't do anything stupid like wave this bag around."

"As long as you don't put a comically big dollar sign on the side I should be fine," the snarky student quipped.

Banyan passed Dylan the funds then tried dialing Edith Johnson. The fast busy signal told her that there was something wrong with the line. The phone could not form a connection. Banyan started to worry about what that might mean but banished that thought with a list of things she needed to get done. She was alone now that Dylan had left. Work was the best distraction from useless worrying. She could at least prepare as best she could for what was to come. Stepping into her office she unlocked a metal box she kept near the desk and pulled out her pistol. She examined it while sliding a clip of .45 ACP into place. Anyone who came to the Sweet Rest Inn looking for trouble would find an unpleasant surprise.

* * *

Detroit, MI

A Small Apartment

3:15 AM Eastern Standard Time

* * *

The Loom of Fate was a complex device. It arose from the need of the Primordials to create something lasting in the ever changing Wyld. The Wyld resonated with stories. Narratives would be told and hang together for a brief time before being subverted, inverted, parodied, or distorted out of shape.

The Loom created a mass of stories and wove them together in a reinforcing pattern: a thick cloth the Wyld could not fray faster than the Loom wove. The Raksha would argue the Loom churned out dross: uninteresting repetitive stories of common lives that at most rated as background scenery in a proper tale. Most of the threads that it wove were rather plain, but, bolstered by the thick threads of the occasional hero, the fabric held

The Loom passed from the completely alien Primordials to the slightly less alien and infinitely more sympathetic gods. Those humans who helped the gods conquer the Primordials wished for all humanity to live better. Even in their mercy, however, the gods knew perfection could only be expressed in magically powerful forms. There would be inefficiency in any system.

Complete removal of hunger, for example, would cause indolence and lassitude and not just in humanity. The need to no longer consume would throw the entire balance of the ecosystem out of shape. However, as long as hunger existed, somewhere, no matter how hard one tried to remove it, the threat of starvation would linger.

It was no evil on the part of the divine. It was only a sad consequence of the careful balancing act required to maintain existence. The gods did resolve that those who suffered unduly due to the whims of Fate would have this debt recorded into their threads. In a future incarnation when their thread was spun back into the Loom's weave they might live a life blessed rather than cursed by the uneven nature of existence.

Of those gods who cared, most contented themselves with this knowledge. Those who cared the most struggled to use their purview over an aspect of Creation to try to prevent as much suffering as they could. The mighty Incarna knew their Exalted would do wonders to shore up this system. They would forge miracles that would help in a multitude of ways. They preferred this. So mighty were the Incarna that their direct intervention might cause more harm than good. Better the surgical strikes of the Exalted than the hammer blow of a Cosmic force.

There were times that Fate, in its dispassion, heaped sorrow upon a single soul in a way that would make the kindest god weep and the most merciless one turn away in shame. One such case was the tiny soul of Andy Howell.

Andy was nine years old. His father had died when he was three. His mother had sunk into drugs and alcohol in her grief. Her addiction snapped her mind's already tenuous hold on sanity. As she spiraled down, a man latched on to her. He was a parasite who saw a weakened organism he could exploit. Reinforcing each other, they spiraled into a level of depravity seldom seen.

When Andy was six, he had taken his only toy, a stuffed bear purchased before his father died and walked to the local fast food store and begged to trade the beloved item for food. He had not eaten in three days.

That lead to the first of four visits by the local DHR. Despite the caseworkers who came to see him trying to red flag the case for immediate action, it was lost in the sea of bureaucratic paper. The workers were reassigned to other tasks

It was after they stopped coming that Andy was stripped of the privilege of using a bed. To prevent his wandering, he was locked in a rusty second hand kennel meant for a dog.

At age seven, his teacher had noticed the dark disturbing imagery of his art projects. He sought to understand why he was not loved. What was wrong with him that he was not treated as other children? There was no anger in this boy. No rage at his fate only deep and abiding sadness and fear. After the teachers meeting, Andy was no longer taken to school.

He was beaten when he drew scrutiny. He was punished when some innocent action triggered the fevered minds of his mother and step father. He would be accused of taking part in some imagined wrongdoing or conspiracy against them or blamed for the lack of money, food or drugs. The punishments were cruel and terrible. Andy suffered broken bones, deep organ trauma, bruising and burns.

His thread in the loom was almost spent. He was, despite his age, less than forty pounds. Neither the growing infection in his broken arm nor the damage his broken ribs were doing to his lungs would be what killed him. The deep bruises to his organs and lack of nutrition was damage his body could not repair. His body was shutting down.

Those spirits who cared did not wish to see this end. Even some who were over darker matters, out of shame, placed their markers on his thread so that he would get a far better life once this one ended. It was fated that municipal leaders would start countless investigations into how this case slipped through without drawing a response. A new state regulation would be crafted which would be called Andy's Law. It would organize and streamline the escalation of critical cases. For some this would be enough: an indelible mark this small sad life would have on the world.

There was one god, however, who knew his work was only beginning for he looked for just this sort of cruelty. It was in his nature to stare into those dark corners that made even the harshest of gods turn. It was his nature to seek those places with not the tiniest gilmer of light, not the faintest spark of hope, and there is where his self appointed work was started.

While the calendar had marched on and the eons continued without him, it was now, finally, his time once again. As of old he would return to the world. He would find the worst the most despicable treatment of a child in all of Creation. For when the Darkness fell and the moon and stars were at rest it became his time.

A soothing voice spoke to Andy. That voice with wisdom no human could match knew just what to say to help him feel better. That voice eased him into rest as it nestled him with tender care. The spirit and mind of little Andy was wrapped in proverbial warm blankets of love and tenderness set before a cozy fire to dream. It was only a stay on death for even the godly might that flowed into his body could not long stave off the full force of fate.

It could, however, hold off it off for a time. For the time he had claimed for his own was a time no other god would take. It was a time he had chosen when none of the other gods would give him a time or duty to discharge. They feared he was cursed, so a cursed time and those cursed by fate became the causes he championed.

"Rest, Andy. It is your time of rest for now. It is my time to work and there is much left to be done," the voice said as it finished filling the small frame with its power. Steel hard hands ripped the cage that bound the boy asunder.

Andy's stepfather rushed into the room with a empty whiskey body held high, intending to find and punish the source of the noise that disturbed his restless slumber. He found, instead, the body of Andy Howell floating in the middle of a massive black shadow. It had the form of a powerful man with four arms. One held a spear, one a shield, one a horn, the last a laurel. It was the last which stuck out and sent the man flying back into the room he came from.

"What the shit?!" Andy's mother screamed, rising from the stained sofa

"Silence woman," the form said as it strode into the room.

She jumped up tossing a TV tray at this apparition before her. "Get out of here ghost!"

The shield bearing arm sent the tray right back into the woman's gut. The impact sent her to the floor.

"Ghost? No you foolish woman. You stand before the shadow of a great being. The shadow of the most powerful god. Your time in this world is over. It is my time come now for Calibration has begun and I am Five Days Darkness shadow of the Unconquered Sun."

"I-I don't know what any of that means! Dear God, help me! This thing is going to kill us!" she screamed.

"No. No god will come to save you for you have disgusted all of them with your sins. There are demons who would shrink from your depravity. I will grant no mercy for you. I have come with retribution. I am the vengeance for the pure that they not need sully their hands with your blood. Of those who I have punished you are special. It is both good and ill for you."

The figure looked away. "There is much wrong in the world. There is much which needs my attention. The kings of old labor in ignorance and I must reveal much sin to their judgement. However, after eons of not being able to discharge myself appointed duties, I cannot just let this go. So, while you face an epoch's worth of my frustration and creativity in punishing you, it is tempered by the need to finish this and see to other tasks. Let us see how successful I am at compressing five nights of suffering into a single day of horror shall we?"

Many heard the screaming. Few bothered to report it. They hunkered down and prayed for it to be over. They were thankful when it ended nearly twenty four hours later. The bureaucracy of government was overwhelmed with hauntings, rouge elementals and general chaos. They were unable to respond even to scattered reports that something had happened until well after Calibration.


	7. Chapter 7

jumped the gun a number of small edits were required.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Remember Campeggio's Law firm is based on Crane, Poole and Schmidt from David E. Kelley's _Boston Legal_. I also make reference to _L.A. Law_ another show Kelley worked on. I claim no affiliation with either program. I do, however, claim Kelley has worked on some kick ass shows. As always, also remember I claim no ownership of any White Wolf property nor seek any profit from these stories they are created for my own (and hopefully your) amusement.

* * *

U.S. Bank Tower

Los Angeles, California

December 21st, 2012

12:00 AM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

The Los Angeles offices for Campeggio, Schmidt and Lewiston loomed large over the city. It filled the upper levels of the U.S. Bank Tower. The building, also known as the Library Tower, was one of the tallest in Los Angeles. Before Campeggio had purchased the space, there had been a plan to make the upper levels of the building into a public restaurant before Campeggio swept away the offer in a tide of funds and claimed that space for his own. This move did not endear him to most Angelenos.

Despite the bad PR, he felt he needed this building. He had, after all, only recently bought into the prestigious law firm he now headed. He felt he needed a personal space to make his mark on the firm. It wasn't just that he could look down from on high at the city's former number one legal firm McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak, who were just across a walkway. No, it was a place to make his own grand statement.

The Boston office was still heavily dominated by the memory of its early partners Edwin Poole and Denny Crane. Paul Lewiston worked from that office almost exclusively, but, even so, only a few of his personal touches shone through the grand eccentric history of Poole and especially Crane.

The New York office was the personal dominion of Shirley Schmidt. Moving in there was akin to attempting to rouse a lioness from her den. Campeggio had too much respect for Shirley to do that. Even in the firm's heyday her other partners had wisely avoided any efforts to do so.

As such, the L.A. office had become Campeggio's seat of power. It was where he stocked the raw talent he personally recruited. While the firm had offices in Los Angeles, in the wake of their wild financial success following the Dragon Blooded case, Campeggio had thought such talent should be reflected by their surroundings. So, it was here in this grand spire in the middle of downtown Los Angeles that he forged his addition to the legal legacy that had come before him.

It was at the top of this building, surrounded on all sides by the glittering splendor of the city, where Campeggio was hosting his office Christmas Party. He had all but dragged the two of his circlemates that remained with him to the party. After weeks of playing diplomat to his circle's Twilight and Zenith, he had hoped partaking in mutual festivities would help chip away at the the immense dislike they held for one another.

His circle mates had not come together in the most pleasant of circumstances. Mutual misunderstandings over who assaulted who attempted to derail Edmond's attempt to form a solid circle before he even had much of an chance to begin.

Deepening the tragedy was that both men needed each other. Agam Singh and Marshall Thompson had both inherited a great deal of ancient and arcane knowledge from their exaltations. The knowledge and occult secrets each possessed were complimentary, for each remembered secrets the other did not. Each man coveted what the other knew, that but was loathe to share their own knowledge with the other. Thus it fell to Edmond to iron out the wrinkles and get them working together.

It was a thankless task and one Edmond was glad to take a break from. As such, he was taking such a breather and standing near the window having a drink and enjoying a few hors d'oeuvres when the moon and stars vanished and the sky darkened. Before Campeggio could even register what happened, a bright flare from south west and an answering beam of utter blackness from the north west caught his attention. Thinking quickly, Edmond calmed the party goers and ushered them all down to shelter.

Only Singh and Thompson remained. His circle mates were sure the dark pillar of power had been some sort of Exalt; either manifesting their power for the first time or they'd expended a great deal of power and lost control of the flow. However, they were both baffled by the light toward the south. They had promptly argued about which phenomena to pursue and investigate first.

Singh had argued that obviously they should investigate the Exalt. With the power of such blackness, it was obviously antithetical to the light they each carried. If it was an agent of evil, it must be confronted and destroyed.

Thompson, conversely, had vehemently argued that the power to the south was of more importance. An Exalt was 'old news' and he postulated the light to the south may have something to do with the celestial phenomena in the sky, which was obviously more important than an Exalt.

Campeggio had broken the tie. He had sided with Agam Singh. The last thing he needed was an 'evil' Manifested. It would be a PR nightmare. He did not need anymore bad press. So, Campeggio had taken the van the company maintained for transporting high profile clients who were at risk of attack for their alleged crimes. It was bullet resistant. Nothing was truly bulletproof. It was also watertight as well as engineered to make all sorts of sabotage difficult.

Despite this caution, he hoped he would not have to test the vehicle's systems. Edmond was a good driver, but luxury cars, not vans, were his vehicle of choice. His efforts to reach his destination were hampered by the police barriers and roadblocks going up all over the city. On the cars police band scanner they could hear the police reporting a disturbance in that area and calling for backup from the CDEP.

Forced to go further north in an effort to find a way around, Edmond ran into a very different problem. A band of glowing, orange skinned, eight foot tall giants and green, flame tinged women were leading a crowd of shapes made of flame in combat against a group of firefighters.

"This doesn't look good. I'm betting on them being spirits," Marshall said, somewhat stating the obvious. Edmond suppressed an eyeroll by shutting his eyes and gripping the steering wheel in agitation.

"Fire elementals of some sort. I have some sorcery that might work on them but it is not subtle," Agam replied.

Marshall nodded. "I don't have sorcery but I do know a few powers to enhance my weapon to strike spirits should they become intangible. How about you Ed? You have anything?"

"I have some powers that enhance my weapon but none of them let it harm the intangible, however, I am prepared. I asked Dr. Spectre in New Orleans about fighting spirits a while back. He said the normal anti-ghost ammo they supply only works on beings of the underworld. He did, however, hook me up with an enchanter he said was reliable. I bought a few clips of anti-spirit ammunition from him. That should do the trick. The bullets have some faint etching on them. I think it's runes or something."

"Let me see it then. I would rather check it out myself than let you go into danger with untested tools," Agam said.

Edmond passed the clip back to Agam. "Be my guest, but I hope you have a magnifying glass or something. The etching is very small."

"I have a magnification device in my utility belt. Have no fear," Agam replied.

" _Utility belt_? Stop trying to make it sound cool! you have a goddamn fanny pack! And that thing you're using is a jeweler's loop," Marshall exclaimed.

"It is more useful than a fixed focus lens and leaves a hand free. As for my 'pack,' it is a pack, but on my belt not my fanny and it severs a utilitarian purpose. Thus it's a utility belt."

"Gentlemen! Let's focus on what's important. Those firemen look like they need help and as much as I want to keep my status secret I'm not going to let them die over it," Campeggio explained.

"You're right. I'm sorry," Marshall said reluctantly.

"Good. Besides, it's bad form to make fun of his fanny pack when you carry a purse."

"It's a haversack!"

Agam Singh ignored both of them as he read the tiny inscription. "The bullet _is_ enchanted, however, all is not as it appears. These are not runes. The inscription worries me. It says ' _Produced 2011: Warlock Arms Ltd. Guaranteed to kill a spirit or something_.' Very odd if you ask me."

"Well, as an attorney, I do appreciate a good liability waiver. Not every hit will kill."

"I don't know, Ed. 'Or something' encompasses quite a bit. You sure these were on the up and up?" Marshall asked, glad the attention had been taken from his 'man purse.'

"If things get bad we'll find out. Let's go," Campeggio said as he exited the van.

A fireman with the rank of lieutenant turned upon spotting them. "You need to turn around. I'm not sure how long we can hold these things back!"

Agam held up a hand. "I know much of this sort of being. I am a professor," he said, as if that explained everything.

Campeggio nodded. "We understand the risk and our here of our own volition, officer. We've come as volunteer experts acting in good faith. You are absolved of all liability under the Psychic and Paranatural Powers Act."

"You some sort of lawyer?" the firefighter asked.

"Among other things. Stand aside, man. It's obvious this situation is going from bad to worse. Let us help. We have some Manifested made gear that might work," Campeggio said, growing slightly testy.

At that moment, one of the creatures charged and toppled the nearest fire truck. The lieutenant rushed one way to get out of the path while the three exalts rushed the opposite direction. Marshall leveled his gun and shot the charging beast, a writhing mass of solid flames, in the side of its 'face.' The beast let out a wail and fell over, again impacting with the truck it had just overturned. As it collapsed its fire died out. It left behind a mere smoldering pile of ash.

The humanoid figures turned at sound and reacted with stunned shock at the beast's death. A second later they started to charge. Edmond pointed his weapon. "Stop. Wait! We don't want to fight you."

One of the green females charged Marshall. He evaded her attacks, seeking an opening to fire. Agam took shelter behind the fallen truck and started to meditate, shaping the essence of the world into a spell that might harm the attacking spirits.

One of the large males attacked with a flashing blade. Ed dodged the attack only to find one of the green women was ready for him and managed to knock the gun from his hands. The male spun and readied his blade in an overhead strike, bringing down into a cut that would sever Ed's head at the neck.

"For God's sake! Explain yourselves! What do you WANT?!" Campeggio exclaimed.

To everyone's surprise the giant paused in mid slice. The others all stepped back a pace from their opponents. The firefighters looked to their lieutenant who waved for them to also back up.

The orange giant stared intensely at Edmond, the flames that made up his face a were a mixture of confusion and anger. "Why can I not attack you?! What trickery is this?!" He appeared to be trying with all of his might to make his blade go down, but it would not.

"Because someone has to be charged with making peace. It is my duty, my honor to be one so charged," Campeggio replied.

"That isn't an answer, but I hear the ring of truth in it. There is something old about you, human. So old it makes even me feel on edge about defying it."

"Then why do so? Tell me why you seek to harm these men what do you hope to accomplish here?" Edmond pled with the creature.

"As elemental beings it is our nature to come into existence or to be drawn toward imbalances in the natural world. This area is over ripe for burning. The conditions have been met but interference keeps the flames at bay. It gets worse year after year. At some point fate will intervene and a fire will come and it would be too much. The flames would devour more than is needed to restore balance. They would over correct and leave a new imbalance. We are compelled to start the flames now before that happens to consume the fuel ending the imbalance on a more even footing."

"These men are charged with protecting the lives and homes of those who live here from the flames. They take their duty seriously. Yet, at times, they do burn things to prevent an out of control spread, do you not lieutenant?"

"What we do is not at all the same," the lieutenant responded angrily.

The elemental glowered and seemed ready to strike out again.

"Hold it! We are not finished." He turned to the firefighter. "Which is more important; lives or property?"

The man opened his mouth for a snap comeback then closed it and rethought his words "Lives of course, but these things just can't burn whatever they want!"

"Do human lives have to end for this imbalance to be corrected? Is it not better that the story of what happens when such an imbalance forms spreads?" Campeggio asked the elemental.

"I suppose it would be beneficial that such a story spread and human bodies are poor fuel for the fires even if they did allow the imbalance to flourish," the elemental conceded.

"That's better. NOW we have a basis for negotiation," he said before he turned back to the firefighter. "Bring a map, lieutenant, and think on how far you think you could prevent the flames from spreading with them guarding the blaze from alongside your trucks." He then turned back to the spirits. "You elementals think hard on this: they have one whose blood is that of the Fire Dragon. With her arriving to help and our proven ability to hurt your kind, how much are you willing to push this? How much minimum must burn to reach a balance?"

"Wait? You're trying to work out a deal? To work out a compromise with these things?" Marshall asked.

"It's not a dirty word. This nation was built on compromise, Marshall. Forgetting that is the most dangerous trend of the modern era, and what I'm doing is negotiating to save lives with the minimum trade off in damage to the city. Material wealth is replaceable. Once a life is snuffed out no one can reignite that."

"How appropriate. Sorry it took me a minute to disperse the energies I had collected." Agam said as he walked up

"It is not a problem. Now, while we're negotiating, you might both think on what we can learn while we do. I think learning as much as we can about these beings may be useful for the future."

"Yeah, I can see that," Marshall said.

"The light of knowledge is a treasure beyond price."

"Well, you're going to have to put a price on it, Agam, I'm not sure the firemen won't balk if I offer them too much of this area to torch."

"Oh, my yes, certainly so," Agam admitted.

* * *

Technocratic Research and Storage: Facility Eight

Mount Erebus, Antarctica

1:05 AM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Brandon had only slept a few hours before the alarms began to sound. He had awakened and reported in. As he had yet to be assigned to any station, he was told to stay put and await further instruction.

After about an hour, Brandon had decided that this was all bullshit and he'd obviously been forgotten about. He didn't want to interfere with the base's operations, however, remaining in the dark wasn't his style.

Weighing his options, he decided to find Alabaster Abstraction. She knew him and her work was mainly glorified secretarial tasks. She should be able to spare a minute or two to tell him what was going on out there and what he should do to help without getting in the way.

Abstraction was at her desk near the center of the facility a few floors down from the control center. She looked up at him with momentary confusion then a burst of revelation came across her face. "Let me guess; they have kept you completely out of the loop?"

"Yeah. I mean, I'm not in the command chain yet, so I don't know what I should do or what's really going on. Is there anything I can do to help out here or anywhere really?" Brandon offered.

"Perhaps. We're just watching the incoming data for information. So far, every natural or man made object other than the sun that exists in or beyond the lunar orbit band has vanished. It's not just light, either. Gravitic pull is gone. The moon isn't tugging on the atmosphere or oceans. Wind and tide patterns are starting to skew chaotically from the predictable norms.

"Of more immediate concern to us is the barriers between dimensions such as our own, the Spirit Realm, and the Underworld of the dead have weakened to an unheard of level. Spirits and ghosts are are pouring into our world and only 800 miles away is a four mile radius pit that has opened around the South Pole.

"This pit seems to drop through space down to the lowest depths of the Underworld. It's spewing forth beings of incredible power. These horrors of the Labyrinth have to be contained. So far a few missile strikes have slowed them down but I fear Administrator Dugan will have to resort to more serious firepower."

Brandon looked over her data. "Alright...I'll help do some analysis then. I don't mind jumping in and pulling my weight. Even if all i'm doing is double checking someone else's work."

"Our own army is mobilizing but given the numbers and power of these foes I doubt they will get the chance to do more than mop up after the site is scorched. It will be only the third time in history the Order has issued a nuclear strike. With the division between worlds lowered it will be the first time it leads to fallout in the Earth itself. Once, they hit into the Spirit Realm in 1999 and in 2004 they had to to assault the enemy from beyond time in Autochthon where they lured it," Abstraction, said, worried.

Brandon put the thought of taking part in a nuclear scenario out of his mind. It was above his pay grade and if someone thought it was needed to keep the world from being eaten by ghosts, well, some devastation was better than total annihilation. In his opinion anyhow.

The task of sifting through all of the data was monotonous. Brandon wasn't sure if it was minutes or hours that drug by. Information was the key to winning wars, however, and it looked like most of the humans in the base had tossed the entire load on the Jadeborn and headed for more interesting tasks.

"You're getting damage reports despite no contact with the enemy," Brandon said, confused.

"Misfires, unexpected launch trouble or other mishaps. The most probable explanation is that very few of these weapons have proven histories or wide scale tests. Some degree of malfunction is to be expected. Even if it is higher than we desire," Abstraction noted.

No. That doesn't match the damage control team's reports. These weapons are showing clean launches only to have the missile tubes explode after the missiles hit. I'm looking for other correlations."

Abstraction drew closer. "They are all in a similar area. Look here, when adjusted for by time of fire...that's odd. It looks like a curving line."

"Do we still have satellites that we can use to see? Or drones observing that area?" Brandon asked.

"Of course. Routing that data in now."

Brandon observed the data and a look of horror crossed his face. "Holy crap..."

"What does this mean?" Abstraction asked.

"I mean someone has to get to Dugan before he launches those nukes!"

"No. I mean this. The symbol on his..."

"Abs, look at the prep work. The missiles are fueled and targeting. How do I get up to the CC deck? How can I get to Dugan?"

"That elevator over there. The button with the star."

Brandon raced for the elevator, vaulting over a desk and shoving a technician exiting it out into the hall. He stabbed the star marked button without sparing the tech a thought and the door sealed.

When it opened again he was in a room that looked like something out of an old movie about NASA.

"Dugan, wait!" Brandon bellowed, dashing out of the elevator. There were only two guards, but they were already sprinting for him, but he dashed past one and leapt over the other as it tried to tackle him. He shoved another technician out of the way and skid to a halt right beside Dugan's chair.

"Stand down!" Dugan shouted to the men behind Brandon's back. They had already drawn their weapons. He then looked up at the young man staring down at him "This is a command post for a live combat event. This is no time for hysterics, Mr. Walker."

"If you fire those nuclear missiles we're all going to die. I have new information of a critical nature," Brandon explained.

"Then explain yourself and with speed," Dugan ordered.

"Connect to Alabaster Abstraction's terminal, sir, she's prepared the video."

"Sir, do you want me to escort this kid out of here?" The security guard asked.

Dugan typed in a few commands into his keyboard. "Just a moment. Let's see what he's found. Although, I'd be surprised if it's worth all this panic."

"Look at those damage reports look at how they synch with that figure there"

Dugan's demeanor immediately changed from condescending to alarmed. "Everyone look to the main screen," he barked.

On the main screen a human figure in some sort of black leather outfit was fighting the bizarre and warped monsters of the underworld. They were twisted, almost abstract horrors. None of their blows seemed to do much to him. His own blows, however, were punishing. He was cutting or crushing foes with either the blade he held in his right hand or the strikes he made with his empty left.

A missile landed not far away and the flash obscured the battlefield at the same moment the missle silo that launched the attack took heavy damage.

Abstraction's voice interrupted the footage. "Sir, I have an analysis but the satellites monitoring the missile strikes aren't the best view. I found another that I think will let us identify this being."

Dugan nodded. "Then play it. Show us what else you've found. So far it seems our base takes damage every time this...being... gets hit in the crossfire."

The video jumped back to show a being with a scythe-like blades for wings strike at the stranger. He shattered one wing with his sword. The other wing he parried with his open hand. The bladed wings managed to lacerate the man's palm. The Scythe Angel let out an unholy scream as its own left arm was bisected up to the elbow.

On the stranger's brow was a symbol and around it was a circle of smaller symbols.

"That's the Primordial tongue is it not?"

"Yes, sir. The center is a form of portmanteau symbol. It's best translation from the literal would be 'blood slayer.' The outer ring says ' _The exile is eternal. Seeking to end or add to his pain brings seven times that pain to you_ ,'" Abstraction read.

The room stood cold and quiet. Brandon looked around and spotted the man who challenged Abstraction earlier. "You son of a bitch! You criticize other people for having a religion? Do you know who that is, because I know! I went to Sunday school! ' _And the_ _ **LORD**_ _said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Caine, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the_ _**LORD**_ _set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him_.' That shit is right out of Genesis! That is mother fucking Caine, slayer of Abel."

Dugan paled. "Damn. This….is above all our paygrades."

"Sir, if it is the legendary first vampire, he still took damage. Even if a magnified version of the same injury was duplicated on his attacker this could be our chance to wipe out the very progenitor of the hemophage,' one of the technicians suggested.

Dugan shook his head. "This base cannot take seven times its own nuclear payload in damage. Order the conventional missiles to fire away from the area where he's fighting. Nothing is to strike near that creature."

The same technician spoke again. "Would it not be worth our lives to end him?"

"I've seen the post battle reports from our Indian operation from 1999. Our full nuclear strike did nothing but incapacitate an elder hemophage at that event. Even if we tossed everything we had at that being, it wouldn't be enough and that is if his power is only moderately beyond the Indian elder. He could well be geometrically, if not exponentially, more powerful. No, I will not risk this base on such incredibly miniscule chances," Dugan scoffed.

"Then what do we do?" The technician lamented.

"Whatever happens we have to buy time to find a way to seal that breach. We can't stop them while unlimited reinforcements keep coming," Dugan said.

"Well...he's fighting them. Maybe if we strike from the sides while focusing our long range fire power on the far edge, we could funnel them into a choke point where they would either over run him or he'd cut them down to a manageable level," Brandon suggested.

"Continue preparing the Jadeborn for an assault. Walker, come with me. You're getting an emergency field promotion," Dugan said while rising.

"You mean were skipping all the training stuff I was going to do?"

"Yes. It might not be the wisest thing, but we're going to need every scrap of power we can lay our hands on to survive this."

"What about reinforcements?" Brandon asked.

"We have forces tied up putting out fires all over the globe. Rayner offered to send what he could spare, but warned it wouldn't be much. After I get you outfitted we're going to do something truly dangerous."

"Oh?"

"The Jadeborn have an ancient king. Rayner ordered me to accelerate his revival. I was reluctant to do it, but once you're bound to your power core, we're going down to the lowest level and going to try to put a rush job on healing a broken being of barely understood power who is of dubious loyalty. He happens to also be the king of a people we treat like..." Dugan stopped and looked at Brandon "Well, I think you're well aware of what we treat them like. I could see the distaste for it in your eyes after Abstraction showed you around."

"Like second class beings? Like they are less worthy to exist or exist only to free you from menial duties? You don't quite treat them like slaves, but you all seem to act like they should be grateful that you don't. Oh, yes sir, I know just what you treat them like and it's complete bullshit," Brandon sneered.

"I'm not going to try to defend it or justify it. I'm not even going to try to excuse it as accidental. I fell into it after I showed up here despite being warned by the Old Man against it. I need your help to remind them that there is someone over me who doesn't feel like that."

"They don't need me to remind them of that or of their duty. If it's any consolation realizing you have a problem is the first step to a cure, but like drugs, being a racist piece of shit is a hard habit to break and an easy one to fall back into. Claus told me you were a good man and I hope I just had the bad luck to have seen the worst of you already."

"Gee, thanks," Dugan said dryly.

"If it's any consolation I had my own battle with racism. It was Kashi that helped me kick that habit."

"The Old Man's grandson? What was it? Got tired of white people looking down on you then found out Kashi was half white?" Dugan asked.

"Nah. Never had a problem with the Pillsbury Doughboys. Hell, Justin was my friend before Kashi. No, I used to have some major problems with Hispanics. Couldn't stand them. My dad is the same way. I just sort of absorbed the hate without thinking about it. When I hit high school I started dating Latin girls just to piss him off."

"How can you hate a people who invented the taco?"

"That was _exactly_ what Kashi said."

Dugan and Brandon continued down the corridors to prepare to unleash the creations of a Primordial in a fight against the very kin he once betrayed.

* * *

Manifested Services Compound  
1:31 AM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Valentina dozed in a chair next to Bastian's infirmary bed. She was worried about her son. As such, she did not truly sleep. Instead, she slipped in an out of consciousness despite the quiet within the compound. Bastian was doing well, or so the medical devices in the room continued to report. The fact that he asked for a chocolate shake after briefly waking up after Terra purged him of poison was further proof of his recovery.

She kept dwelling on her son's thievery and dishonesty. They were traits Valentina had no desire to see in her son. Kai was also disappointed. He and Valentina had spoken about what they were going to do with the boy after he brought Summer Rain in for her confession.

It was a magnification of concerns the Dragon Blooded were having around the world. With only 100,000 of them worldwide and their population largely female, it left their children effectively in single parent homes. The male Dragon Blooded all did their best to help, but they were stretched thin. As each Dragon Blooded had skills and abilities no mortal being could match, they were in constant demand, often swept up in events, fighting for every moment they could to dislodge themselves from an avalanche of responsibilities that threatened to bury them all.

Someone opened the door. Valentina was awake and alert as soon as the handle moved. A young woman, an intern, looked in. She spoke in a tremulous voice. "Ma'am, the governor's office called. The state of California is calling you to duty. They will call back in two hours with deployment information."

"I'll go wake up Kai and Terra. You go rouse the others. With so few of us here, they're lucky we can even respond," Valentina sighed.

"Yes ma'am. I'll check the helicopter and put the planes on standby as well," the intern said as she rushed out.

"Send for Mr. Fletcher! Someone will have to look after the children," Valentina yelled as she poked her head out the door. The retreating intern raised her hand in acknowledgement as she ran.

Valentina looked back at Bastian to see if she had woken him up. Her big son had merely rolled over in his sleep. Valentina sighed. She was grateful for that at least. Still, this wasn't good. They were understaffed due to the holidays. Only Kai, Terra and the original members of the assault team were present. Valentina went over to Bastian, kissed him on the forehead and tucked the blanket up to his chin. She then made the short journey to Kai and Terra's living space.

MSI was structured like a fusion of a university campus and a company headquarters. The medical building was adjacent to the visitor's center and lecture hall to the south and a suite of offices to the west with Kai and Terra's residence and the other Dragon Blooded's apartments beyond that. Valentina strode down the immaculate, modern corridors of the Medical building and pushed open the glass doors to the outside walkways.

Even though MSI was in California, they were near the mountains. The crisp air hit Valentina in the face. The temperature was hovering in the mid 30s. As a Fire Aspect, her body emanated waves of heat that contrasted wildly with the chilly air.

Perfectly manicured grounds lit up with spotlights greeted her along with the chill air. However, something was off. She could not put her finger on it. The grounds were still. There was only the faintest bit of wind. Then it hit her square in the face. There was no moon. The stars had also vanished.

Her walk became a jog and then an all out run as she cut straight through the offices to Kai and Terra's home. She swiped her keycard at the entrance and made straight for their bedroom, stopping at the door. She turned the handle and opened it. Inside Terra had already opened her eyes. They cut to the door away from an electronic pad she had on her bedside table. It showed live video of her quadruplet children in the adjacent room. No doubt awakened by her subconscious hearing a disturbance, she had looked immediately to the most likely source. Kai was behind her spooned up. His own eyes popped open and looked at her questioningly.

"The governor says we need to be ready to deploy in two hours. There's some sort of emergency. Something's up. The moon and all the stars have vanished," Valentina said.

Kai sprang out of bed. He was nude as was his sleeping custom. In one fluid motion he was standing and strode to the door. "I will go find out more. See to the others Val."

Terra sat up. She was clad in a flowing silk nightgown that displayed her very large breasts prominently. "Kai? Clothing?"

"If they wished to see me clothed they should not call in the middle of the night," Kai replied without stopping his stride out into the hall.

Terra rolled her eyes. "If that man gets any more stubborn he'll start trying to slam holes in our walls when the doors aren't where he wants them."

"Well, at least he has nothing to be ashamed of," Valentina smirked.

Terra laughed. "He's still infuriatingly stubborn, though."

"Agreed. Comeon. The interns are going to start gathering the children. I've already sent for Mr. Fletcher. We can get a cup of coffee while we try to keep everyone organized."

"Coffee sounds amazing right now," Terra admitted. "Just let me get a robe and this pad so I can watch the babies."

The two women made their way to the dining area in the other Dragon Blooded residence. The Dragon Blooded had proven fond of each other's company. They felt more comfortable when they were able to socialize with each other. As such, while each terrestrial was able to have their own private space in the residential building, there was still this one space where they could all gather if they wished.

Even though it was late, this was the emptiest Terra had ever seen the common dining hall. Usually it was busy at all hours. It made Terra realize just how many were away from the compound for the holidays. It did not surprise Terra though. The holidays and the traditions that surrounded them were among the last strong ties that many Dragon Blooded felt to their human family members and their old lives. Terra had fully supported everyone keeping that tie. It was good for all the ladies on the research teams to remember the faces and people that made up humanity. It was too easy to fall into the trap of an 'us versus them' mindset if kept apart.

Valentina set up the coffee pot while Terra hunted up some _polvorones_ to nibble on while enjoying the caffeine break. The two women then sat together on one of the tables close to the kitchen enjoying some coffee and a few treats they were able to scrounge up.

"Too bad Angel packed up her cakes for the trip south. As much as I like these cookies her baking is heavenly. I love her cinnamon bread," Terra said.

Valentina smiled. "We know. We couldn't keep it around while you were pregnant last time. You'd eat it as fast as Angel could bake it. Actually, you'd gobble down _anything_ as fast as she could make it."

Terra blushed. "I was eating for five."

"I know, I was just teasing," Valentina said soothingly. "I love her cinnamon bread too. That stuff is almost good enough to kill over. I do remember you being reluctant to try _polvorones_."

"I never liked shortbread or sugar cookies. I didn't think adding pecans would make them that much better," Terra explained.

"When you go to Austria, you had better be sure to get some _fruechtebrot_ from Astrid. I might not care for the stuff, but it's one of the few things Angel likes that she can't seem to bake for herself. She swears that old woman has secrets she left out of the recipe."

"Well, she is Kai's grandmother. I wouldn't put it past her to sabotage the instructions she gave Angel so she could keep her 'secret recipe.' I think she's where most of his stubbornness comes from."

"At least she can cook. With Inga's taste in food, it's a wonder Kai didn't starve," Valentina said, remembering in particular a batch of infamous meatballs that tasted like fish.

"Kai's so big, you'd think his _mother_ of all people would have been able to cook," Terra observed.

"She says she fed him protein, not sweets," Valentina said.

"Speaking of sweets, Summer's share of the treats Astrid gives the children will be divided back to the others as part of her punishment," Terra explained.

"He doesn't know it yet but Bastian is going to be punished as well. He's been stealing and lying to us all about it. I'm thrilled he's going to be alright, but he's not going to get off scot free just because he was sick. Once we make it to my parents, he'll have to tell my mother and father what he did," Valentina admitted sadly.

"I want to forgive them. I can't help but feel it's partly our fault. We're all so busy. All of us. It hardly seems fair to them that they get so little of our time," Terra said.

"We can't spoil them in response to our limitations. I won't have what they'd become on my head," Valentina said. She shuddered involuntarily, thinking of what a selfish narcissistic Dragon Blooded could do.

"Oh, I know exactly what you mean. Luckily we're not in it alone. We just have to keep helping each other keep up with them all," Terra said with a sad smile.

"That reminds me, Terra, with all the other researchers away and the team and Kai heading out to Los Angeles, you'll be here alone. I think it'd be best if you carried a side arm."

"Really, Valentina? You're starting to sound like Kai. Who's going to come up here and try something? Keeping a weapon on me while trying to spend time with the children would be too dangerous," Terra argued.

"Please. Do it for my sake. If you won't carry a firearm at least carry those gloves with the jade knuckle plates. Something to give you an edge if something happens," Valentina pleaded.

Terra sighed but nodded her head. "First thing after I see you off, I'll go get the gloves. I'll see if a few of the werewolves from PSI can ride over here with Arnold. It will give extra eyes to keep watch on the children at least."

The other ladies of the assault team began to appear. They passed through getting coffee and snacks while they dressed and saw to their kits. Soon, the word came. They were to report to the helipad. The pilot was already prepping the helicopter for takeoff.

It was a short drive to MSI's airstrip and helipad on the east side of the compound. Terra accompanied Valentina to see the team off. Kai was the last to arrive. He was dressed in his jade reinforced tactical armor and carrying his massive warhammer. He looked like a demigod prepared for war.

"I have received more information about what we face. There has been a massive upwelling of the undead in Los Angeles. We will be headed to the old farmer's market. We will use it as a landing zone. The undead are headed south from Hollywood down Fairfax. The police are trying to hold them and the National Guard has been called to back up their efforts."

"Be careful Kai. It sounds like this could be bad," Terra said.

"I will do you and little Summy proud and return as quickly as I can. At the first opportunity we will resume our Christmas plans! Until then keep your mind here and your eyes watchful," Kai said.

"I'm not the one heading into danger," Terra quipped.

Kai was not normally the sort to display affection in front of others. This was not just due to his own private nature, but to make it easier on the women who already knew, while he shared his body and had love for all of them, that Terra was his wife. She was the one who had not just part of his heart but his very soul.

He abandoned all caution and lifted her off her feet into a fierce embrace and a passionate kiss. "Life is danger, my wife. None of us may escape it, but without you, it would be only a chore to endure not an adventure to share."

Terra stood, stunned, as he leapt up onto the helicopter. Kai closed the door which latched with an audible click. Terra backed away as the rotors started to spin. A high pitched whine joined the roar of the engines as a blast of wind whipped around her. The helicopter lifted off into the air and off into the night. It turned and began to make its journey south. She stared after it as the dark form, illuminated only by its blinking running lights, vanished into the night. Terra stood alone for a long time. She could not shake a nagging feeling in the back of her mind. Why did she have such a bad feeling about all of this?

* * *

Narni, Italy

Under the Cathedral of San Giovenale

10:35 AM Central European Time

* * *

A man focused through pain and confusion. He tried to sort his thoughts. He looked around. He was surrounded by men, although maybe some were women. It was hard to say. They all, save one, wore masks. They seemed plain carnival masks but rather than the classic white they were reflective mirror sheen faces. As for the one who was not masked, his name was Deacon. It was not his title. It was his name. It was an important distinction to remember. He was a bit over average in height a bit under that in weight. His hair was reddish brown and his skin was tanned enough to suspect he had something of the Middle East in this ancestry.

He knew Deacon had been a member of the Celestial Chorus. He had been high in their councils, yet far from an arch magus. He had taken a sabbatical two years ago. He had left to quest he had been suffering from faltering faith and sought something to inspire it anew.

It seemed that he had found something that had done just that. On the altar behind him there was a large glowing green crystal statue of some monstrous wasp. Obscured within something moved and cracks started to form in the crystal encasement.

"Wonderous isn't it? It is like the shell she originally emerged from but these are different. Rather then the cosmic might of Exaltation, these living relics she hunts were sent to provide the Chosen of the Primordial beings with power. They will be mightier than the Chosen of the Gods," Deacon said, aglow with reverence.

The room was bathed in an unholy light as the crystal split into fragments that revealed a slender female figure. She seemed to be barely out of girlhood, yet she was tall enough to definitely be a woman. Her hair was platinum blonde with a odd iridescent sheen to it. Her skin was pale but with light rose undertones that complimented her lilac eyes. Her features were delicate, but she radiated a power that was anything but. As she rose, nude and unashamed, two of the masked attendants rushed forward and wrapped her in cloth forming a toga like effect. The chunks of crystal continued to crumble into pieces then a fine powder.

"Ahh, Deacon! I return from my sojourn and find you have a surprise for me? How thoughtful of you! What have you brought me?" She said with a voice that rang like crystal chimes.

"Noble Mother, I bring you a captive and not just any such. A captive from the Illuminati itself. His name is Angelo Garcia. He is one of their field agents it seems. He has proven quite resistant to my powers."

"You are almost too good, sweet Deacon! Now, perhaps we will find the truth of this mystery. What wonders you must be hiding Angelo? I know of some of them but I am sure it is just the tip of a very large iceberg. Come, Angelo, tell me everything you know," she said with a pleased, gentile smile.

"I'm afraid not. You will learn nothing from me, demon tainted witch," Angelo said.

"Why do you try to make this hard? I do not wish you ill. I wish no one ill. I fight to protect the world and all of its people. I fight to protect you, Angelo. To protect your sister, Celeste, and your little niece Gracey. I will make a world where they are safe."

Angelo's eyes widened. That was information that should have proven impossible for her to know. "How do you know those names?"

"Names are very important, Angelo. Names are like our faces. Names are a part of how we present ourselves to the world. Names hold power and power leaves traces that can be followed. There are many names that surround you. I would know more of them," she said with a pleasant smile.

"I have sworn oaths that will not be broken. I have made vows I will not betray. I serve the Order those who come to illuminate the world and drive away the darkness!"

"Come, Angelo. Do I seem dark to you? I wish your Order no ill. I just need to know things that only they know. I need to have things only they have. I need to speak with them. I need to convince them to share. They can share and we can all be friends. We can all work together to unify and prepare the world. I have no intention of letting anyone conquer or harm mankind. I will protect and shelter them just as I have said I would." Her eyes seemed dreamy as if she was seeing the very idyllic future she described.

"Somehow, I doubt it will be as simple as that," Angelo said doubtfully.

"Things are only difficult when people make them so, Angelo. Too often people seek to fight against their own good. Like children who are cranky fighting a nap. It is a pointless struggle with the inevitable."

"Are you our mother, then? Are you going to scold us and put us to bed when you feel we are acting like naughty children?"

"Perhaps it is so," she said with a light tinkling laugh.

"You're quite a bit younger than me, so spare me your mothering."

"Oh, that is where you are wrong, Angelo. So very wrong. I am older than you, Angelo. I am older than this building. I am older than the shape of this world. The stones and seas are but children to my eyes. I have seen ages come and go."

She had been slowly moving forward as she talked. Now she was only inches away. Angelo had been working to free himself from his bonds. His hands lashed out to grab the girl by the neck and wrench it around beyond the point that it would snap and shatter like the crystal she'd crawled out of. Unfortunately for him, his hands met with a barrier of unseen force well away from her neck. No part of his body made contact with her flesh. He could not move. He was held in the place by this unseen power.

"YOU DARE!" Deacon bellowed. The guards all moved to draw weapons, but the girl held up a single finger.

"Stay your hands," the girl said to her guard before turning back to Angelo. "So, you seek to harm me, Angelo? That is very wicked. I cannot approve of such behavior. I will forgive you, however, for you have not had the proper education. You do not know that what you do is wrong. Therefore, I forgive you Angelo."

"I don't want your forgiveness!"

"My forgiveness is not dependant on such. It seems, however, that I must hasten your education, Angelo. I cannot have you giving way to such unseemly tantrums. Now, the first thing you must learn is that I am your Mother and that everything I do, I do for you and your siblings."

"Fuck you, BITCH!"

"How crude. That is not my name, Angelo. Which brings us to lesson two. Every child should know his mother's name. It is not something to use lightly. As I said before, there is power in names." She leaned in and gently stroked the side of his face. With an almost tender embrace, she whispered in his ear.

A look of peace and contentment came over his face. Only to suddenly be replaced by a look of confused fury.

"Mother? He is...he is fighting your holy name," Deacon said in astonishment.

Angelo convulsed as veins stood out in his neck and his teeth clenched.

"It seems this Order's blasphemy runs deep, Deacon. It will be hard for us to help them. Their rules and laws torment poor Angelo for seeking shelter in his Mother's love," she said, her voice breaking with sadness.

Red filled the sclera of Angelo's eyes as blood ran in rivulets from his nose and ears. The girl waved her hand away in a shooing motion and the body floated away into the arms of two of the masked attendants.

"Very disappointing," she said with a sad frown.

Deacon stepped forward tentatively. "You gained nothing from him?"

"I gained three things, Deacon. First an image of the object that binds him. It is the Sceptre of Peace and Order. Second, I saw a place but only bits and pieces. All of it is a jumble. However, it was in Rome. Of that I am sure."

"And the last thing?" Deacon inquired

"Why a name, Deacon. I saw the name of the man who bound him. Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci."

"DaVinci! The great master? Surely he must be dead by now. His age would be extraordinary," Deacon exclaimed.

"The very same. They say that with age comes wisdom, however, his wisdom is to be questioned. He experienced through Angelo all that has transpired here."

"Then he too resists the power of your holy name?"

"Yes," she said. The single word held an almost unbearable sadness.

"Then we must go to Rome and remove him before his heresy spreads," Deacon said resolutely.

"If it is true he must not be allowed to block the spread of joy and salvation. We must take away his object of power, Deacon, and bring his entire Order into our fold. Rejoice, children, despite brother Angelo's passing our numbers are soon to grow. With the veiling of the moon and the stars, our time is at hand," the Emerald Mother said optimistically.


	8. Chapter 8

Platinum Arms Hotel

Penthouse Suite

December 21, 2012

9:32 AM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Kashi awoke from one of the deepest, most peaceful sleeps of his life. He was lying in the hotel bed with Yuri who was curled up in front of him; the little spoon to his large one. Kashi used his well practiced 'morning after' skills to gently slip away from Sayuri and head into the shower. He'd let her sleep in for a little while then go get them something to eat.

While Kashi had prepared the 'date' part of their evening, Sayuri had done most of the thinking and planning behind their night of lovemaking. He looked at the small, labeled plastic bags that Sayuri had brought with her and smiled. Since Halloween, she had kept a set of clean clothes for the pair of them in the trunk of her car in case of an emergency. As such, they both had clean clothes to change into for the day ahead. He quietly opened his bag and found she had even packed a small emergency snack for him. He smiled, and, with inhuman effort, didn't eat the snack. Instead he placed his clothes on the bed and made his way to the shower.

With the warm water coaxing his mind to awaken as well, he reflected on the previous night and Sayuri's ability to understand him. As he played through events, he realized he was more committed than ever to marrying her. He loved her more than he'd ever loved anyone. He hoped she was happy with him. Kashi had become keenly aware he not only wanted to be better for her, but knew he was already better with her at his side. He stepped out of the shower drying himself and walked back into the room where he noticed that Sayuri was still asleep, but had turned facing the bathroom door. She slowly opened her eyes and gave Kashi a sleepy smile.

"You okay? We didn't over do it last night, did we?" Kashi asked his beloved.

"I'm a little sore, but it was worth it," Sayuri admitted with a shy smile.

"That's good to hear. I'll get us something to eat while you shower and stuff! Then we can have a nice breakfast before we head out."

"Sounds good. Some hot water will be nice."

Kashi helped Sayuri up out of the bed, taking the opportunity to grab a quick kiss that stretched out into a long kiss. With great effort he pulled away from an all-out make-out session and watched her walk away into the bathroom. It wasn't until she was out of sight that his stomach rumbled loudly, finally overcoming his heart's desire to keep Sayuri in sight.

Not wasting anytime, Kashi donned the clothes Sayuri had chosen for him - a sleeveless hoodie and shorts, almost a carbon copy of what he had been wearing - and slipped on his shoes. This time he ripped open one of the soft granola bars she had packed away before grabbing Sayuri's elevator key and resercuring the Nana's ring from the drawer.

With the key, he took an express ride to the ground floor. He strode out into the lobby of the hotel and looked about. This hotel was an upscale place but still maintained a complimentary continental breakfast for business travelers. Kashi remembered Sayuri saying that, her father, Mr. Sato, was fond of them when he traveled saying it wasn't just the value, but the convenience. He felt many other business travelers might enjoy a quick bite before setting out on whatever business they had for the day.

The continental breakfast was separate from the main restaurant area. It even featured its own door to the kitchen. From the rear elevator, Kashi could get there without passing the front desk.

The buffet had real plates and the same metal flatware used in the main restaurant. It was assumed patrons would sit and eat in this area, but Kashi had other ideas. He carefully craned his head and looked about. The corridors seemed deserted and dining area was vacant. He then found what he was looking for; an abandoned service cart.

Stocking the cart with flatware and dishes, he carefully rolled his purloined cart over to the buffet. As it was late morning, the food would be taken up soon, so it was unlikely anyone would be coming to fill it. In fact, the staff was most likely getting the _actual_ restaurant ready for the change over to lunch service. It was why, he reasoned, he had not encountered anyone. The guests had all left early and the staff was busy elsewhere.

He was, frankly, amazed at how much food was left. He grabbed a few bagels off the stack and snarfed them down with all of his typical ravenous intensity while he looked at the rest of the food. Luckily most of the dishes had hardly been touched.

As stealthily as he could, with half a bagel hanging out of his mouth, Kashi leaned around the corner to see where everyone was. Out in the lobby he saw everyone was either staring outside or gathering around the TVs. Beyond them, out on the street, excited people were rushing away down the road.

 _Someone must be having a last minute Christmas sale_ , Kashi thought to himself.

That mystery solved, he returned to loading down plates of food for himself and Sayuri complete with pitchers of juice and milk. His plates were more akin to piles of food, while he had more artfully arranged Sayuri's repast. He even helped himself to one of the flowers on the tables for her. He figured she'd be hungry, so he portioned her more than he'd normally seen her eat. Besides, if she didn't finish it, he would. It would have all been slated to go into the garbage anyhow.

Taking a last look about, Kashi made a quick, but but not suspiciously hasty, walk back to the rear elevator. One smug smile at his ingenuity and a key turn later he was shooting up on a non-stop path to the penthouse.

Kashi came bustling into the room as Sayuri exited the shower wrapped in a towel with another wrapped around her hair. She looked at the food Kashi had acquired with a start. "I'd say you had too much, but I'm starving. Besides, If I don't finish mine, I'm sure you will," she said with a smile.

Kashi grinned. "This cart thing is great! I should get a folding one," he said almost half jokingly. "Got lots of stuff you like in here."

There was little conversation between the lovebirds as they ate. Mostly, the pair just enjoyed being near each other. As was the norm, Sayuri finished while Kashi was still eating. She couldn't help but smile in an embarrassed fashion as Kashi continued to shovel food in his mouth. Finally, he wrapped up eating, polishing off the last of the food.

"Well, that was good, but I might have eaten too much. We need to clean up the pool area an get rid of all of this," Sayuri said

Don't worry. I'll get the clothes and stuff we left upstairs at the bar. You just stay here. I was playing stealthy in the lobby, but I realized no one here will know me, but, they might recognize the owner's daughter. You rest up a bit for the drive back home. Cleaning up the pool area won't take long," Kashi offered.

"Part of me likes the idea of this always being our secret. Another part wants to walk right out the front door arm in arm with you," she said with a smile. "My father would be furious with me. We'd have an enormous fight. It would be very cathartic, but then what? I plan to keep you in my life forever." Sayuri dropped her head brushed a stray hair after from her face as the smile began to melt. When she lifted her head back up, she wore a face of confusion. "He'll have to get used to that, but I think flagrantly defying him would only make that harder. Maybe coming here wasn't such a good idea," Sayuri said, thinking aloud.

Kashi shook his head. "Coming here was fine, but I bet you're right. Your dad would be pretty pissed. I mean, I don't know your dad, but for some reason, dads always get the angerist when they find out their daughters are having sex in their own house. They get mad about it anyhow, but when it's under their roof, they seem to really blow up. This isn't your house but it's still his property so, yeah…," he said, trailing off as he realized he was revealing his own intimate knowledge of having sex in other people's houses.

Sayuri smiled, stood up, and gave Kashi a hug. "Well it was my idea. We'll try to slip out if we can. If not, I'll accept my own subconscious as the instigator in using this as our hideaway."

"Okay then, I'm heading off to clean up then," Kashi announced, slipping Sayuri another kiss just before breaking the embrace to go clean up.

Grabbing the food cart, he made his way out to the pool. There was no one in the halls, but that was not unusual. This floor was not occupied. His 'cleaning' was mostly just picking up discarded clothes and shoes, moving items back to where they were and flipping light and sound settings back.

Kashi fingered the ring in his pocket again. He realized he should have proposed to Sayuri while they were eating breakfast. He would rectify that when he returned to the room. He retrieved his phone from the sound system. It looked like he had a text from his mom. It was likely about being late to Willow's birthday breakfast, but he'd read and answer it later. He was pretty sure both his mom and Willow would be okay that he had missed her cake cutting when it was all explained. Either that or he'd have an even bigger fight on his hands after he told his mom he'd proposed to Sayuri.

As he turned to leave, however, he noticed that the sky looked odd. The sunlight was hazy and slightly dim.

 _Must be a bad smog day,_ he thought. Curious, he peered over the edge of the roof.

The smell of old stale air hit his nostrils as the wind blew in his face. It reminded him of one of Nana Johnson's rooms that had been closed off for a long time. There was a lot of traffic on the roads. From what he could tell, most of it was headed away from the city.

Kashi was confused until the simple solution came to him. He and Sayuri must have slept through a tremor. With all of the out-of-towners in for the holidays, it was no wonder there was a mass exodus. Non-Californians seemed to panic everytime the Earth gave a little shake. Smiling to himself, hopped aboard the elevator and deposited the cart on another floor and made his way back to the penthouse suite. He opened the door and walked in with a grin, his hand on the ring in his pocket.

"Hey! The Earth must have literally moved for our first time! You should see the tourists fleeing! They say how big a shake it was on the news?"

However, the smile died on his lips when he saw Sayuri's face.

"Kashi! That's not it at all. The city's under attack!" Sayuri said, aghast. She was ashen faced, watching the TV.

Kashi looked at the screen. Across the bottom of the screen, the words ' _Zombie Apocalypse?_ ' were plastered at the bottom above a rapidly scrolling ticker. At the top the words ' _Kai Silbern Strikes Back!_ ' loomed. In the center of the screen were the Dragon Blooded of MSI literally tearing up a street in the process of slaying a large chunk of undead assailants.

Kashi pulled out his phone and looked at his mom's text. "Oh man, she's going to be pissed."

This was definitely going to be a bigger fight than he anticipated.

* * *

Technocratic Research and Storage: Facility Eight

Mount Erebus, Antarctica

December 21, 2012

10:05 AM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

It had taken hours to get to this point even with Dugan's rush. While previously having been briefed on the safety of the situation, the security involved in exposing someone to the exaltations without the rest escaping was extremely time consuming.

Abstraction had brought several Jadeborn to consult with him. While mostly rehashing what he'd heard before, two made a point to reiterate the final bit of the consultation.

Obdurate Shale was a dark grey fleshed male with lighter grey eyes and hair. He was the Jadeborn in charge of piecing together history from the Jadeborn's foggy recollections of the ancient past that remained buried in their minds.

With him was technology researcher, Focused Citrine. His skin was a sandy shade, but his eyes gave away the reason for his name. They were a bright orange hue.

Abstraction herself had gone to the control room at Brandon's request. She was watching as his witness to the Exaltation process.

"Remember, the key to success lies in the three gifts the Great Maker gave creation at the dawn of time. Only humanity and the Jadeborn made use of all three of these. It is why our cousin races were blessed in his eye. We are bound by that blessing, we made by his hand and you made by his brethren in our king's image," Shale reminded him.

"He gave the world Tools to overcome limits. He granted Dogma to organize beliefs. He awarded Faith to sustain the soul when even hope had died," Brandon parroted back from the lessons Shale had drilled into him.

Personally, he found value in tools and knew the power of faith. He wasn't so keen on dogma. Dogma was the organization of beliefs into a proper and improper structure. It lacked something. It wasn't a code of conduct or a code of morality, it was law detailing what you should and should not believe independent of reason and morals.

Brandon could see it was itself a tool for honing and sharpening faith, but divorced of reason and morality, it seemed a sword with no hilt as sure to injure your own cause as to accomplish the purpose you set it too.

The Order, it seemed, agreed on the usefulness of Tools and was very adept at using Dogma to manipulate people and to shape worldviews. They found no real value in the power of Faith.

"You are to receive the greatest tool Autochthon ever created. Exaltation, the fire he gave the gods to burn out the corruption of his brethren. With the power of his other two gifts you can ensure you receive the correct tool, the Exaltation, most aligned with your goals. United in purpose, you will be synergistic. You surely will accomplish more than those the Order has all but _forced_ the Exaltations upon," Citrine said.

"Right, so I clear my mind, and think nothing of danger or pain. Visualize what I want to accomplish most with my Exaltation, not just now, but across my life. If I believe hard enough it should pull the right Exaltation to me while the others less suited might be slower to react."

"If you go in with that attitude you will fail, Brandon Walker! Have you paid us no mind at all? ' _Should pull to you?'_ ' _Might be slower_?' ' _What you want to accomplish?'_ There is no room for such uncertainty! Faith, man! You have it or you don't. The Exaltation WILL come to you. The others WILL stop and you WILL reshape this world with your actions now and for centuries to come! There is no doubt of it, not even the shadow of uncertainty, by your will it will be," Shale said imperiously.

"Shale is harsh but few listen to what he's really saying, Brandon. The willworkers, strangely, don't understand. Well, Rayner does, but he alone seems to see the power of Faith. How can you do the impossible if you do not first know the impossible can be done? It was impossible that humans could slay the creators of the universe but Autochthon never doubted they could. The Incarna joined him in a rebellion that cold logic said could not be won. The Unconquered Sun alone truly understood the value of the Third Gift. The Primordials did not write Justice into the universe. They did not scribe the concept of Holiness into the world. They existed because the Unconquered Sun believed in them. His faith made them real," Citrine added.

A disembodied voice came over the loudspeaker "Alright, Mr. Walker, step forward into the next room." Brandon rose and nodding to the others in understanding departed.

It only took a few steps he saw the marked circle he was to stand in and reached it. "We'll be releasing the containment field in three... two...one."

The force field collapsed. Brandon shoved everything out of his mind but his purpose. As the field fell, and a larger one snapped into place. The technicians had prepared him for an avalanche of the skittering little bejeweled crab spiders to rush him. Instead, only a few came forward...slowly. The others milled about like impatient dogs.

Brandon visualized his goals. He would gain his power, awaken the Jadeborn King and they would rally the troops and defeat the current threat. After that he'd help the Jadeborn reach a more equitable level with the Technocracy's willworkers. Together, they'd reshape the world into a partnership with their human cousins.

He had been briefed on the 'temperament' of the Exaltations and he was unsurprised the six who came forward were either gold or silver. The purpose of the other four Alchemical Exaltations would not mesh well with his personal goals or style.

The few plans Rayner had shared with him in casual conversation seemed to mesh with his goals. While it was true that the Order seemed to have a few problems, he could work to fix it from within. The world needed the Order's strength intact.

That was when a small voice came, unbidden, to the forefront of his mind. _Will you really? Won't you just become another cog in a powerful and soul crushing machine? Weren't they overcomplicating all of this? Why not just go out there to Caine and ask him to move?_

The Exaltations paused as Brandon's mind raced. If he could solve this without them, he'd not owe anyone for giving him anything. He could steal away and confront Caine alone. It would be _his_ victory, owed to no other force or powers. If the Order was corrupt he could fight them from the outside. He could join up with the others that were like Kashi and make a difference without having a hook in his mouth like a fish.

He shook his head. He could do all that after he had the power. After all the Order didn't _make_ these Exaltations. The Great Maker, friend of man, did. He'd put his faith in someone who sounded a lot like Hephaestus over Kashi's clueless ass.

A golden oricalcum Exaltation rushed forward and Brandon took a step forward to meet it. It latched on without the pain and fighting the other volunteers suffered.

The technicians were all recording this remarkable display. It was so unlike the previous unions. Alabaster Abstraction, however, was otherwise occupied. She was sketching in the image editor of her tablet. She wanted to get some information down before her memory faded.

Behind Brandon she had seen a figure step out of the shadows. She was fairly sure it was female, but it had an androgynous beauty seen in many human runway models. The figure wore a tailored pants suit that lacked the frumpy lines often associated with the look. It featured a plunging neckline and lacked anything visible under the jacket. The figure wore short heels and light makeup that just barely pushed the more feminine aspects of the face into notice. It had short, but stylish hair and silver stud earrings which completed the being's appearance.

It had stood behind Brandon as if contemplating him. It let out a heavy sigh as one of the Exaltations chose him and returned to the shadows, vanishing. No one else saw it and when Abstraction turned to check the cameras, she was surprised to see none of the devices, not even those that could detect spirits, recorded its presence.

Whatever it had been, it had to have been powerful. She feared none would believe her. Maybe she could reveal what she discovered to the King when he awakened.

* * *

Hollywood, California

Office of Isaac Abrams, Anarch Baron of Hollywood

December 21st, 2012

10:15 AM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Grave Hunter felt he could use a drink, and not his usual beer either. He needed something stiff with a burn.

His head was killing him. He thought his ordeal should be long over, but Isaac Abrams was well practiced at staying up and out of the sun when need be.

Hunter had been picked up by his old bosses goons. They had come to investigate the sudden chaos exploding out of the old graveyard, and had found him wandering naked and still trying to sort out the confusing nature of the visions he'd received at his Exaltation. They had taken him to the back office of Abrams Jewelry store. From here he'd been repeatedly debriefed on the incident. In his confused state he'd made the mistake of telling them everything. Abrams didn't seem to believe him.

Everytime Abrams said his old name his head throbbed more. Rather than appreciate that there was nothing he could reasonably do in the face of the sort of power flowing out of the old graveyard. Abrams seemed fixated on finding a patsy to blame.

"Normally I would cut you off and let you suffer a very painful death as the ages caught up with you, but you always were a hell of a fighter. Might be best to take you down personally," Abrams threatened with a sneer showing his canines.

Hunter was tired. His ordeal at the graveyard was as confusing to him as it was painful. It had been another ordeal here being asked questions he didn't have the answer to. And this latest threat was just a bridge too far. His patience gone, he pulled at a fire in his soul as he snapped. "Why don't you just shut the fuck up and sit down," he roared, finally having had enough of the whole affair. The words carried an odd feeling of authority as he said them and, to his surprise, he saw Abrams, quite against his will, snap his jaw shut so fast it clicked and slam himself down in his chair. He mentally cataloged that one as a very useful skill.

Grave Hunter rose and went to the wet bar in the corner as Abrams got control of himself. The bar wasn't just a showpiece. Abrams occasionally offered drinks when rewarding his subordinates or used them to lubricate the tongues of humans with which he had business. He downed a double of bourbon before pouring a triple and walking over to Abram's desk. He sat down on the corner and looked down at his former boss from his new position of power.

"You were a pretty good boss most of the time, so I'll let the death threat slide this once."

Something trickled into his eyes and Grave Hunter leaned over and pulled out Abrams' pocket square from the vampire's front pocket. He dabbed his head and came away with a bloodstain. It was a ring surrounded by eight radial lines. It was the same brand that Inglewood kid had on his forehead. However, instead of being limned in gold, his was trickling blood.

The dark Exalt was momentarily lost in thought before he looked back up. This would help get the point across. The local vampires had been hightailing it out of that kid's path since Halloween. Abrams should recognize it as a symbol of power. He tossed the square on the desk in front of Abrams with a sigh, and committed himself to his path ahead. He fixed Isaac in a glare down his nose, a tool he had seen used hundreds of times, and pulled a look of contempt across his face.

"I've had just about enough of this so let me tell you where we now stand," Hunter began. First our relationship has changed. I no longer work for you, Isaac. Next, stop using my old name. That man is dead. Last, I find myself in need of funds, but while I am burning ties, I see no reason to make unnecessary enemies. The council has a rather extended list of people that they'd like dead and can offer reward for, yes?"

Abrams glared up himself. To his credit, Hunter didn't even flinch as the vampire's muscles tensed as he tried to rise before giving up. Beginning with some trepidation as he didn't even know if he could answer, and trying to end his remark with as much steel as he could muster despite his weak negotiating position he answered. "Yes, we do. Many whose deaths we'd not want traced back to us."

"This chaos, then, is an opportunity. Some extra deaths won't seem too suspicious if done well."

"That is true," Abrams admitted.

"Give me the list. I'll be back when the number is thinned. Have money. Once I've been paid, I'll be leaving Los Angeles. Too many old memories here."

"I understand. Officially, I'll say you died in the graveyard. No one needs know you lived to provide a final service," the vampire said with a smile.

Hunter was instantly suspicious of this sudden change in attitude. He had worked for vampires for a long time and knew betrayal and disposal of assets and servants that were no longer useful came very naturally to the children of Caine.

"Tell'em whatever you want. Tell people you killed me, if you want. However, I do the jobs and I get paid. Of that be very, very sure, Abrams." Hunter stood up and then loomed over his former boss. He pulled on that fire in his soul again. As he did, the room around him darkened and he felt his forehead begin to weep what he could only guess was blood yet again. Abrams flinched involuntarily. "If you try to fuck me, I will come down on you like something biblical," Hunter continued. "You'll be scrapping for broken pots in the junk piles with Job as you look at the ruins of everything you owned. You'll curse the day you were embraced and joined the kingdom of the dead. I will dangle you over the pit I was forced to look into and you will beg me to let you go to end the suffering I will heap upon you. I am not your servant. I am Grave Hunter, Prince in the Lands of the Dead. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Abrams replied in a voice just shy of shaking. Hunter leaned back as the Vampire opened a hidden drawer in his desk and retrieved the sheet.

Grave Hunter nodded, took the list, and walked out.

* * *

Kimura Home

Inglewood, California

December 21st, 2012

10:27 AM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

The emergency traffic had slowed them down but they had finally made it back to the house. Kashi was worried. The power seemed to be out. The traffic lights were all off. _It could just be the old ass power grid_ , Kashi thought, while eyeing his surroundings as the car pulled up to his house.

"I hate to drop you off and dash, Kashi, but I do want to check on my dad. None of my texts are getting through," Sayuri said, panic creeping into her voice.

"No. It's good you go check on him. Maybe try to reach out to Reiko. She's likely to know stuff, being a Dragon Blooded. Maybe we can find out what the hell is going on."

" _Manifested_ , Kashi! No one but you knows they were called the Dragon Blooded! The only people who might say that are people like Bree Madigan. You know, others like you?"

"Right, don't want to give myself away on something small," he said before giving Sayuri a peck on the cheek and exiting the car.

"Don't forget this case of papers! Keep your phone on. I'll text you an update when I know more. It's slow, but is better than nothing," Sayuri said.

Kashi nodded as he took the metal box. He had extreme reservations about letting Sayuri out of his sight, but she was an adult. "Just watch the drive. The streets are pretty crowded."

Sayuri took off and Kashi headed for his front door. As he reached it, he noticed the door was not fully closed. Suspicious, he slowly opened the door and took a careful step inside.

Pain exploded into his side. Kashi instinctively flooded his skin with power, hardening it, but that didn't stop the attack...or the pain. A man in tactical gear had been standing flush with the wall, opposite the door's opening and struck him with what looked like some modified cowprod. Electricity coursed through him, ignoring the sudden hardness of his flesh.

With a quick motion, Kashi dropped the clipboard and wrenched the weapon from the man's hands and cracked him along the side of his face with the weapon. Gunshots rang out and Kashi felt impact with his legs and shoulder. Three more men were in the apartment. Two were behind opposite ends of the sofa and the other was crouched further away in the kitchen doorway behind the overturned kitchen table.

Flooding more power into his hands, Kashi raced to the sofa and, with a leap, seized one of the men at the end of the couch and hurled him into the other. Before either of the two men could blink, he was on them both. He started to beat both men unmercifully. His only thought was to try to quickly nullify them and make the odds more even.

Bullets continued from the kitchen and, behind him, the man who he'd clocked in the face with the stun gun had already rolled into a crouch and brought his rifle to bear. Kashi lifted one of the foes from behind the sofa and tossed him at the man who had attempted to stun him. Both men went down in a heap of arms and legs, the one he had thrown landed with a sickening crunch and shattered the drywall, showering plaster everywhere and was left in a heap with his neck twisted in an awkward position against a wall stud.

Kashi seized his other foe with one arm and raced at the man in the kitchen. Despite using his beaten foe as a human shield, his attacker kept firing, riddling his teammate with bullets as he beat a hasty retreat toward the Kimura's back door. Kashi kicked the kitchen table, sending it flying in an attempt to trip the fleeing man. However, his attacker had already made it far enough out the door that the table legs tangled with the frame of the door and kept it from hitting him. The table disintegrated from the force of the blow. Kashi tossed his human shield behind him into the other two lumped figures and exploded through the kitchen door. He artfully grabbed the side of the doorframe and swung his legs outside, hurdling the rubble and throwing himself further than was reasonable toward his target while landing at a dead sprint.

Outside he chased the lone remaining gunman with his fists and head aglow with Solar fire, hot on the heels of the retreating figure. The man in tactical gear was fast and in shape but Kashi was not legendary for his speed up and down the pitch for nothing. He tackled the man who collapsed with Kashi atop him.

Kashi rolled him over and removed his mask. It was no one he knew. "Okay, who the hell are you people!?" He shouted, frustrated.

The man's eyes rolled back in his head and foam started to come out of his mouth. Quickly his face started to deform.

Kashi leapt up, backing away as the smell of rank almonds assaulted him. "Cyanide? Like in the movies? Are you fucking kidding me?!"

 _Who the hell were these guys?_ He wondered. He jogged back in the house to check on the pile of bodies in the living room. His human shield was dead of course, riddled with bullets. A quick check of the man thrown across the room confirmed he was dead as well; his neck shattered. The last, the one who had initially tried to stun him, also had foam from his mouth and that same bitter almond smell. Left entirely blank, Kashi looked around and found no one else in the rest of the downstairs. He then headed up to the next level.

His side was bruised badly from the gunshots and his shirt was shredded, but before he could get to his room for another shirt, he found in the hallway were six more men in tactical gear. They were all long dead. Their throats had been ripped out and they were left to bleed to death in the hall. Kashi looked carefully over them. The throat wounds looked ragged. Like animal claws.

Werewolves? Vampires? Kashi didn't know enough he pulled out his phone and started to text James. He'd need the doofus' help to figure this shit out. He carefully stepped into Willow's room. It was a mess. The window, mirror, and the glass in her pictures were all shattered. Willow's creepy old doll with the cracked eye seemed beyond shattered. She looked burned. Kashi saw no other sign of fire, however.

The LCD screen of Willow's flat monitor hadn't broken, but with no power her computer was a hunk of metal. He spied Sayuri's gift to his little sister covered in glass on the floor. It looked as if it had been knocked off her desk. He picked up the present and dusted it off, contemplating it before putting it back on her desk.

Kashi stepped back out into the hall, confused. Why would someone come for Willow? He was pretty sure the vampires wouldn't. They had a truce. They were clearly scared of him and didn't appear to want to break a good deal?

He just didn't know enough to speculate. Kashi walked into his room and tossed a few clothes together in his gym duffle bag before changing his own outfit. He then left the house and crossed the street to Nana Johnson's house.

Before he could even knock on the door, he heard his Nana's voice. "Kashi? Is that you, boy? I heard gunshots! Are you alright?"

"I'm bruised up a bit, but I'm okay."

Kashi heard the unlatching of chains and the old woman opened the door and looked out. "What is that on your head, son?"

Kashi's hand went instinctively to his forehead. So much for not letting the small details trip him up. In his haste, Kashi had forgotten his light show. It wasn't much, but his brow was flickering with light.

"Um, well, this, is well... I'm not sure, Nana." He thought about trying to lie. Saying it was glow-in-the-dark paint from some party he had been to, but he was a shitty liar and he knew it. He decided to just come clean. He had never been able to lie to his Nana. "I have these powers and this glow starts when I use them."

"That's a _halo_! Kashi you been touched by the LORD! Like the prophets of old! Like Moses and Elijah!"

"Umm...what?"

"God has put his mark on you, Kashi! The dead are up walking and those Manifested are fighting back and now here you come with a halo? It's the Lord's, work, Kashi! He's mysterious but he knows what he's about."

"Nana, I really don't think that's it. I've had this power half a year now. It doesn't have anything to do with what's going on. And there were men in our house they attacked me."

"You think the Lord didn't know what was coming, child? He sees all, young'un. As for any men skulking about with guns, it doesn't look like they hurt you too bad and there are always those who'll do the devil's work in persecuting His chosen. Most don't even know who they serve. Look at the Pharisees! They thought they were serving tradition! Look at the Romans who thought they were just keeping order."

"Nana, I need you to focus for a minute. Willow is missing. I think these men took her or something."

"Oh, Lord, child, I was afraid. I should have done something."

"What happened? Did you see something?"

"Last night the power went out. I could tell cause the fans stopped running. You know how I have to have some air moving when I sleep."

Kashi nodded, the light from his forehead catching in his golden bangs.

"So, I got up and threw on a robe and got my flashlight. I even took my cane. I don't care for using a crutch, but I'm not fool enough to risk tripping in the dark. I walked over to your place to check on the girl. The door was locked but I have my landlord's key and as it was an emergency I let myself in." She stopped for a moment and looked at Kashi. She shuddered and seemed about to cry. "There was some sort of evil business in there. I felt this evil feeling and I don't know why, but I ran away. Lord forgive me, I left that child there and ran back here," she finished with tears in her eyes.

Kashi shook his head. "You didn't do anything wrong, Nana." He hugged her tightly. "She might have already been gone. There were six men dead in there when I showed up and I had to kill four more who tried to kill me." They held each other for several moments until Kashi suddenly broke away. "Hey, Nana, If the power is out here, how do you know about the zombie attack?"

"The radio, child. I put batteries back in Avery's old police scanner. The one you two used to sit on the porch and listen to."

"Oh, well, that makes sense."

"I tell you what, you young people can't figure out how to do anything without your fancy internet and cellphones! Radio's been telling man what goes on for a century now and you'd think it was just a thing for your car."

"Speaking of cellphones, Mom wants us to come to the hotel and bring the neighbors. With the power out here I think it's a smart move. We can figure out what's going on there."

"Oh, Lord, Kashi," she said with a strained voice, "what are we going to tell Banny? We lost her youngest right in the middle of the world going to the devil."

"I know, but we'll think of something. I have a few friends who might help," Kashi said, pulling out his phone to text James and update him on the situation. It looked like, again, he was going to spend a crisis looking for his sister all over L.A.

* * *

Virtual Adept Safe House

Inglewood, California

December 21st, 2012

10:55 AM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

"You sure this is the place?" Bree asked.

"Positive," Dan said, looking at his laptop. "The center of the power outage was this little house."

"Well, let's be quick. I want to check on old lady Johnson. She owns these rental units."

Natalia rolled her eyes "If you wanted speed, perhaps we should not have stopped every other mile to get kittens out of trees or help old ladies across the street."

"Hey, call it what you will I'm not going to turn a blind eye to people in need just because I'm in a hurry," Bree said defensively.

"Lets focus on the immediate problem. I see a door that is half open. That's not a good sign," Dan said, interrupting the resumption of the argument he'd been forced to referee all the way up the road from San Diego.

Bree drew her gun. "I'll take point. Natalia, can you check the back?"

"Now, that makes sense. Yes. I'll go into the back."

Dan hung back, following Bree's lead as they carefully advanced. Just inside the door was the ruin of a body, it was wearing some hiking style boots, old jeans, a thin t-shirt with a flannel overshirt. A knit cap lay near the red smear of what had to have once been a head.

"He was gunned down from out here then executed with a double tap, expanding bullets too. They wanted to make damn sure he was dead. That's overkill on a level you don't often see. There won't even be dental records left. They didn't do anything to his hands and feet so it couldn't be solely for stopping identification of the body."

"I'm going to back up some here. Don't mind me," Dan said.

"Even new cops get sick around this sort of violence. Just back up and don't throw up on my crime scene."

"You're not a cop anymore, Bree, this will be someone else's crime scene."

"I'm here and investigating. That makes it mine. You can still be useful. Look back there for shell casings from the swiss cheese effect they blew through some ammo."

"Something like ten rounds a second isn't it? Most magazines run dry in like three seconds. Professionals almost never used full auto unless they're trying to supress an area. Kai taught me that. He's remarkably adverse to inefficient use of ammo," Dan admitted. "Looks like they spent the whole mag out here. There's a bit of a trail they might have moved up and fired again."

"Yes, there is a second victim in here. Hold up, Natalia. Don't come in that door yet. You'll step in the blood."

Dan looked back into the small house trying to look past the body without seeing it. Another corpse was laying in the ruins of a desk beside it was a door that looked like it might lead into a kitchen. Natalia was standing in that doorway

"Shit! Someone did a number on these guys."

The other body was wearing an old hoodie that might have been grey before it was blood soaked. The wall was splattered with the remains of his head.

"Same as the other. Double tap with a expanding bullet. Someone wanted to be sure these guys stayed down. They don't seem to be vampires. They fall apart when they die. All the years held in abeyance catch up. Even one that was pretty fresh would see more rot than this. Ghouls are a possibility," Bree mused.

Natalia turned as if she heard something and stepped away from the door back into the kitchen. She was looking at something Dan couldn't see.

"Whoever you are you had better walk up here slowly with your hands where I can see them," she said while taking a firm grip on her shotgun.

Bree carefully stepped over the blood into the kitchen drawing her own firearm. Dan held his breath as he stepped over the dead body in hipster clothes and into the corpse filled room.

In the kitchen there were two doors. One opened out into the back of the house. It was where Natalia had entered the kitchen. The other revealed a staircase leading down into a basement. Walking up the stairs was a wet, nude girl.

"Don't shoot! I'm Willow Kimura! I don't know how I got here or where I am really. I woke up in the basement down there. There is some odd machines. I'm cold and scared," the girl said.

Bree moved to where the child could see her.

"Oh! Hi, Bree! It's me! Strawberry! Boy, am I glad to see you! I guess I'm safe if you're here. First Halloween and now this. I sure seem to get kidnaped a lot lately."

Bree frowned. "The same pages, same words as at Lucy's."

The girl stood and blinked a few times. "Okay. You got me. I'm not Willow Kimura."

Bree cocked her pistol. "Then why do you look just like her?" She asked, her voice edging with anger.

"Well, because It was the only way I had to avoid death and I wasn't too keen on dying just yet. When I saw the hit squad aiming for me I transfered my mind and soul out of my body into this one. You can't perform resurrections anymore, but if you're quick, you can evade death with a body hop."

Dan raised an eyebrow. "You one of the dead guys in here?"

"Yeah. The one at the computer. Oh, God, that's weird. Yeah, that was me. The name's Brad or at least it _was_. I'm a Virtual Adept."

"Who? What?" Natalia asked, clearly trying to adjust to what she was hearing.

"I think they're one of the nine Enlightened Traditions, the mages that operate in opposition to the Technocratic Order of Reason," Dan interjected.

"You're evading the true question and I'll have none of that. _WHY_ did you have a clone, I take it, of Willow lying around to conveniently toss your spirit into?" Bree snarled.

"Oh, it was sort of a distraction. A false trail. We had been watching her for a while. She is key to a prophecy of pretty incredible importance. We had some details wrong but I figured out most of it. It seems the Technos were ahead of us, however. She ascended at midnight last night. They were waiting right outside the door to kill us as we were going to extract her. Looks like she's in their hands now."

Bree's mind ran through the information making connections she was sure he left out. Years of interviewing suspects made the unstated easy to put together.

"You were going to extract her as in take her from her home and away to what? To be trained? In her place you were going to leave this clone? A soulless doll made to parrot Willow's mannerism in an attempt to fool her brother and mother into thinking she was fine?"

Dan shook his head. "That would never last. You likely included some sort of kill switch, some way to end the clone's life in a way that looked accidental once enough time had passed to make it hard to trace your abduction."

Brad nodded. "Aneurysm. It is set to come on in a few years. Tragic, but painless. Look, it was important that they not know. They could be drawn into a very dangerous world otherwise. Truth be told that doesn't hold much water, even with me, I wanted to revise the plan after her brother started displaying those crazy powers of his, but I was overruled."

"This is the most unethical horse shit I've ever heard," Bree snapped. "You must have engineered that clone in your image because you have no soul."

"Look, I'll agree that I'm not in the moral right here, but can I at least have a towel or something? Also, we need to go to the Kimura house and see if we can find any evidence of what has happened to the girl. I've got a sinking feeling I know where she's headed but with any luck maybe we can head them off before they get there."

Bree shook her head in disgust. "Fine, get something to wrap around yourself. I doubt there's any clothing in here for you. I'm going to bet you were going to give the clone Willow the real one's clothes and leave the actual Willow naked and tied up in a sack or something. It seems about your speed."

"No. Unconscious in a metal case for transport. The case has stealth technology to keep the Technos from tracing it. We didn't want anyone tracking her."

Bree closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. "You had better go now while I work on tamping down my temper."

Once the mage disappeared into the bedroom area through the other doorway in the living room, Natalia shook her head. "Are all mages like that?"

"Yes and no. They're all supposed to have a distorted world view, but no two are alike in how they operate. The only one I've ever met was a complete amoral mercenary asshole. So, I'd say I haven't had a positive experience with one yet," Bree said.

"The Dragon Blooded suspect the Technocratic Order was behind their imprisonment, so they are loosely allied with the Council of Nine Traditions," Dan pointed out.

"Doesn't mean they're our friends. It doesn't sound good for Willow, regardless. As soon as he's back… she's back… whatever, we head over to Banny's apartment and see what happened there."

* * *

It was only two blocks to the Kimura's home, but Bree decided it best to drive. She entered and looked around the Kimura's living room, a disgusted expression pasted on her face. "Well this is definitely Kashi's handy work," she said, looking around at the destroyed living room. There was shattered furniture strewn about, impact craters on the floor and huge holes in the wall complete with shattered bodies in a pile in the corner.

Dan examined the pile of broken bodies laying in the corner. He looked around the room, slightly bewildered. "So, he's, umm the OTHER kind of Dawn Caste I take it?"

"He's a college soccer star and an amature martial artist. His heart's normally in the right place, but he never bothers to think about the outcome and consequences of his actions."

"Hey! I was a sports star too! Don't knock him just because of that," Natalia said defensively coming in the back door. "The kitchen is similarly wrecked. There's a body in the backyard too."

"Yes, but you're older, wiser, and infinitely more level headed," Bree added stepping into the kitchen.

Dan raised an eyebrow still looking at the bodies in the living room. He leaned in and sniffed. "Is that cyanide? Did one of these guys honestly kill himself with a cyanide capsule?"

"Two did. That's what killed the guy out back, I believe," Natalia said.

Is this the same group that killed you?" Bree asked, turning to the mage in Willow's clone body. He was obviously taking in the destruction of the living room. His bewildered expression was worsened by the overly large t-shirt he'd put a belt around to make a make shift dress and the comically large men's house shoes and spare hoodie he was forced to wear. It made Bree almost smile to herself at the look of trepidation on the clone body's face. Clearly the mages had never thought of the consequences of an enraged Kashi coming for them.

"Maybe. Not sure. Same gear, though. The Technos current unit structure is to send these guys out in squads of six with a platoon of four squads. From what I know of their SOP they'd have one squad come for us, one secure the girl, one covering the escape from a rendezvous point and one floating ready to respond with back up should any of the three get in trouble," Brad said making a face and holding his gut.

"Don't get sick on my crime scene," Bree admonished him.

"I don't know what's wrong. I woke up with an ache and it keeps getting worse," Brad said

"Here?" Dan asked, pointing to the clone's appendix.

"No. I know what appendicitis feels like. This isn't it. It's not a dull pain. It's more of a squeezing pain like something is too tight inside."

Natalia pointed on the clone body. "About there?"

"Yeah."

Bree snorted. "Great, we'll have to go upstairs. I know where Banyan keeps her supplies."

Dan blinked then smiled. "Oh! Gotcha."

Brad looked at both of them, confused. "What? Wait, what's wrong?"

Natalia rolled her eyes "Guess, genius. You're having menstrual cramps."

"What? Really? You mean I have to do this every month?" Brad asked, shocked.

"Only for a few years," Dan said with an ironic smile, alluding to the clone body's limited life span.

The false Willow looked slightly relieved for a moment until he gave a moment's pause and then understood the implications of what the man was saying. As the face of the little girl twisted in shock Bree spoke up.

"It could be worse. You could be kidnaped and enduring cramps as I'm sure Willow is

right now if you synched her biology to this clone," she said with a sneer before she stopped at the top of the stairs with a low whistle. "Well, this isn't Kashi's work."

Natalia craned her neck behind Bree. "Oh...wow. That is a lot of blood."

Dan's voice came from downstairs. "Hey guys! I found a sort of well...a clipboard, but it's got a metal storage compartment under it like the sort tow trucks carry, you know? It's got a bunch of financial papers for Jin Kimura and Kashi. You think it's some sort of inheritance or offering?"

"Not now, Dan, we've got six dead guys up here. Their throats are ripped out and they were left to pile into the hall outside Willow's door." Bree shouted down.

Natalia spoke up. "What do you think, Bree? You're our expert."

"They never felt the blow. They were completely unaware of their attackers. Each had his throat slit by someone standing directly behind him and never seen. That sort of sealth and sudden kill I'd say vampires. Nosferatu, from what I understand, would be at the top of the list for this sort of thing. They were spying on her once. If it was vampires they left in a hurry. They didn't hide this they wanted these bodies found either as a message to any pursuers or more likely to Kashi."

"With this many, they'd have been already set up here when these guys came in. They'd have been here before Willow ascended which means not only did they know what was going on they were able to work out the meaning behind it all and cut holes in our wards to get everyone in here without setting off our detection. This has the copper-tinged stink of Tremere blood magic," Brad said in disgust.

"Apparently that whole floor is covered in blood so, you know, lots of that smell to go around," Dan offered, coming up behind Brad.

Bree stepped into Willow's room, examining it intently.

"There might be come evidence on the computer. We need to grab it before we head out," Dan suggested stepping in behind Bree.

"Hold on, I got that. I took something of Greg's that can help. The poor bastard's not going to need it anymore and it might help save the girl," Brad said, as he pulled out Greg's tablet from the hoodie's pocket. He touched it to Willows computer and nodded.

"That's it? All the data transferred?" Dan asked.

"By the power of magic all is made simple, friend," Brad assured the Dawn Caste.

"All the glass is shattered and this doll is burned? Any idea why?" Bree asked.

"Alternate worlds often have an effect on mirrors. They can be made to reflect not only our world but the spirit world or the underworld. Willow's power, it seems, resonates with the underworld. I think the doll had a similar resonance. It might have been important to a ghost once. The magical power surge likely shattered the reflective surfaces and burned out the doll."

"What would Willow's power have to do with other worlds?" Dan asked.

"Well, all mages all have an aptitude for a sphere of magic. Sometimes gifted ones have an affinity for more than that. There are nine of these spheres and the council is made up of the traditions. Each tradition corresponds to a sphere of magic. It's been long held that there is a missing tenth sphere that will reveal the completeness of the universe and perfect our understanding of magic. Only...I don't think that's what's going to happen. Willow is connected to our own sphere, Correspondence. Some call it the magic of spaces and locations. She also, however, is the first ever to be connected to the missing sphere. It doesn't reveal the perfection of all things, however, it reveals the inevitability of the universe itself."

"The Sphere of Death?" Dan deduced.

"Oh, God, does that mean all these undead in the city are coming for her? She's the key to all of this?" Natalia asked.

"She's not the Key, nor is she the Gatekeeper. She is the Gate itself," Brad said.

Everyone looked at him wondering what he meant.

Brad sighed and sat down on the little girl's bed. Though he had physically just woken up, he was already exhausted. "It's from a prophecy. The prophecy we have been trying to protect."

"Wait, if she can control space _and_ the underworld, then it would be a snap for her to open passages from anywhere in the underworld to anywhere in the real world. That would be a tactical advantage of unprecedented proportions. Mobility is one of the greatest advantages you can have in a war. No wonder they want her so badly. She can hand victory on a silver platter to anyone she is allied with," Dan said, his voice rising.

"Well, I mean, she's a novice. No matter how strong she is, she's not going to do so right at the beginning. In the long run, once she's trained up some and prepped, yeah," Brad explained.

"So, the Vampires want her because she can control the forces of death and they are dead. That makes since. The Technocracy knew about her and wants her for their own war against the underworld and you? Or is there something you're leaving out?" Bree asked with a scowl.

"Well, there is one thing. It's odd. I don't know how much it might mean or what, but her grandfather is a powerful mage or _willworker_ as the Technocracy calls them. In fact, since the restructuring in 2005 he's pretty much calling the shots on Earth. The rest of their people are in space, which, with everything out there vanishing, pretty much means he has power unchecked over the whole Order for the duration of this if it ever ends," he said. He took a deep breath. "Yeah, God damn, that sounds bad," Brad realizing the full gravity of the situation.

"Why would that ever _NOT_ be important?" Natallia asked, upset.

"Because our power of magery doesn't work like an inheritance. Being related to a mage makes you no more or less likely to gain an Awakened Avatar than the average person. It's happened before but only in a disjointed and fairly unrelated way, all hundreds of years apart. Bloodline shouldn't BE important."

"Banyan once told me her father had a saying; ' _true greatness will always shine through in the blood._ ' Does that sound like a man who wouldn't care what happened to his granddaughter?" Bree asked.

"No. It sounds odd, I mean, he always did stuff for his living descendants, but it seemed more like a hobby," Brad said, his tone going thoughtful

"You didn't know because you never asked!" Bree accused with anger in her voice. "What? Were they just not important enough? Even with his power Kashi wasn't important enough for you to talk to?"

"It's not a matter of _important_ ," Brad replied jumping off the bed. "It isn't like that. It's a matter of Awakened magic! Fate and Destiny! It's the War of Belief! The struggle for the very soul of mankind. Kashi was never supposed to be important! Not like this. He was supposed to be an old line of junk code, an inert, negligible component. A thread that didn't connect to the pattern. What would you have us do? After spending a dozen years planning this operation, we were just supposed to drop it all and give up because someone chose to jack him up with cosmic 'roids? We don't give a damn about that! We have bigger concerns!" Brad said in a startling outburst. His fists clenched and his voice rose to a shrill shriek Bree instantly recognized. Willow's voice only reached that level when she was extremely upset. Usually at Kashi.

"So here you are, hoisted by your own petard. Your arrogance has cost you everything," Natalia said with a sneer.

"Fuck! None of you understand! If anyone else gets control of her, it could well be the doom of the world. You people are so concerned about your own importance you can't see! I didn't like any of this. You can't just scrap everything and toss the dice with the fate of the universe. We had a plan. Stick to the plan and...stick to the plan and...and every... shit," Brad said, breaking down.

"Only it didn't. It didn't end up fine. You died, Brad. Died! Greg died and what about the other one you spoke of on the drive over here? Jesse? He might be dead too. One way or the other you tossed the dice when you continued on but your plan had already fallen apart. A lack of adaptability is a death sentence. Now we have to plan a recovery. We have to find where Willow is before someone turns her into a doomsday weapon," Dan said.

Bree nodded. "We'll have to go tell Banyan and Kashi soon. As much as I hate to say it, we may need his brute force. Let's head out." She then turned to Brad who had respectfully begun to get his emotions under control. "You'll find Banyan's supplies for your condition under the sink in her bathroom. Meet us downstairs in a few minutes. I'm going to look around. I'm willing to bet Kashi took everyone to the hotel where his mom works. There's a shelter there."

The three Exalts exited the building. Bree shook her head. "Thanks for playing along, guys. We got some honest information out of him."

Bree remembered her meeting with Maximillian Strauss at Thanksgiving. She knew there was a high degree of likelihood the Tremere had reached Willow before the Technocrats. They alone had been aware of both forces watching her. They also feared Solar retribution enough to be trusted to keep her safe.

Any good cop however knew the best interrogations were those you did when you already knew most of the answers and your subject didn't know how much you knew. Your subject wouldn't know where and how to lie to keep their fabrication from showing.

"How many of those answers did you already know?" Natalia asked.

"Most, but the ones about their plans and motives were the most useful. They don't see Willow as a person. They see her as a tool or a weapon."

"Well, now I know why you never talk to the police without a lawyer," Dan said.

"Screw that. You don't need a manipulative weasel. If you are honest and sincere you don't need them. You'll have truth on your side," Bree countered sanctimoniously.

"Truth or no truth, Bree, you manipulated that man into spilling his guts. I don't see how that's too different from what Campeggio does," Natalia pointed out.

"The fact that I was after the truth. Not obscuring it," Bree said defensively.

"He does exactly what you did, except he does it on the stand," Natalia shrugged.

"And if we we're so righteous, then why do I feel the need to wash my hands?" Dan asked.


	9. Chapter 9

New Orleans, Louisiana

Western Border of St. Tammany Parish

1:02 PM Central Standard Time

11:02 AM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Alex Silbern had assumed his mammoth war-form in the middle of the day in open country. That alone gave testament to how dire the situation at the border had become. He stood overlooking the few assets he had, his silver-white fur gleaming in the oddly dingy sun. Clad in a torc designed to enhance his already impressive durability with the klaive of Prince LaCroix's Sheriff strapped across his back, the near twelve foot wall of muscle was huge even for a werewolf. As such, he cut an extremely imposing figure. The klaive was not his only weapon. Like all werewolves, his limbs were tipped in deadly silver claws. He was a literal killing machine, but he could not be everywhere at once.

Before his change, Alex had once been in the Army Rangers. He had been a platoon sergeant, even if only briefly, before his discharge. At the time, he had felt he had reached the limit of what he wanted to do in the military. He had a talent for leading men and he liked his work, however, he wanted to know the men he lead. At the platoon level, he was stretched to know all of his men well. As such, he had never desired to become an officer and be responsible for people he'd never met.

He sure as _hell_ had never wanted to lead a city full of hundreds if not thousands of supernatural beings. Yet, here he was, trying to hold the line while mentally juggling the effect his stand had on the strategic defense of the city as a whole. It was a place he never wanted to live. To him, it was a mosquito infested swamp. A swamp he had been swept up into making his home, but he would defend it to his dying breath. The descendants of the Lost Tribes that he had plunged into the past to save were in danger. As such, he was going to have to ask people he didn't know to do the same: make sacrifices for people they didn't care about at the expense of people they did.

"Send word we're pulling back," Alex ordered.

Leo looked at Alex in shock. "If we pull back now, they'll flank the defenses on our sides!"

"If we don't, our lines will be nothing but Swiss cheese and penetration strikes will hit the evacuees before they can clear out. Non-combatant's lives come first. Pull three off the front line to help put a rush on the last of those kids to get loaded in the trucks," Alex ordered.

Leo glared angrily but raced to obey Alex's order.

Somewhere out there the Doc was trying a counter strike to blunt the wyrmspawn offensive. The wererats had hit the enemy's back lines, but got themselves cut off. A rescue was out of the question.

Alex steeled himself for the butcher's bill. It was going to be bad. The casualties were heavily skewed, with Alex's defenders taking out dozens for every one that fell back, but the wyrmspawn were fanatics. They were assaulting a bastion of the deepest affront to their god. The were unholy crusaders out to avenge the death of their divinity.

All the rage in the world didn't seem to be able to help Alex or his werewolves now. The wheel had turned and it was the wyrm's scions who raged in the face of ultimate defeat. They were determined to sell their lives for the slight chance of victory.

Alex's ears perked up as he heard a shriek of terror behind him; his prediction about infiltrators had already come true. Something had slipped past. It was some sort of spindly demon beast and while it was already dead, it was too late. It had already struck before Leo had been able to cut it down. An older woman lay dead in a pool of blood.

Three of the evacuees, a pair of boys and a girl stared in horror, their eyes glassy with shock. The eldest was maybe fifteen at best. She let out a horrible cry of sorrow. The wail of grief turned into squeal and then a high pitched cry of anguish. The older girl's skin split and warped into a giant humanoid wild sow, rippling with muscle. She charged towards the defense line in a mindless fury. She was joined by the two boys, who had also changed shape. The two had the appearance of classic minotaurs. With a deep sonorous warcry they charged as well.

Alex rolled his eyes and cursed. This was the last thing he needed. He raced to stop them. This was a pitched battle. The charge of untested newbies would not win the day. They'd be swallowed up by dark tide of foes. If anyone tried to stop them the enemy would strike at the distraction. Their blind charge could well break the already over matched line.

Alex managed to tackle one Apis into another. The Grondr was too far out. He shouted at the defenders not to follow but, in his distraction, he was nearly tossed aside by the pair of enraged were bulls.

His temper flaring, Alex fought to maintain control. If the beastial part of his nature took control, he'd lose his greatest advantage. His ability to utilize tactics and coordinate was all that was keeping the city's defense afloat right now.

He caught a foe out of the corner of his eye. The line was already breaking. His defenders were moving out of position to help the girl or help him subdue the twins. As soon as the enemy was behind as well as in front, they'd lose any chance to retreat.

"Form a line! No one charges!" he bellowed, rushing the infiltrating wyrmspawn and shoving it back beyond the perimeter. Shocked by the attack, the Apis twins fervor broke. Both joined in the defensive line but were weak points. There was no overcoming their lack of experience.

The line was not going to was faltering along the weak points. Even if it was reinforced, it would likely still fall. What was worse was the enemy had refrained from cutting down the Grondr girl. They were playing with her, tempting the line to break and rescue her. The only way the line was going to last was if something was done. He knew he was the only one who could rescue the girl and the line not collapse.

"I'll get her! Hold them here!" Alex ordered.

With a charge, he made a beeline for the girl. Alex didn't think there was going to be a way out of this one. They'd encircle and take him down, but the line might hold. No one would want to be the man who broke after watching the commander die.

As he sliced his way through the tide of foes he noted, with no small irony, that he was subjected to 'wolf pack' tactics. They were hitting from behind when his attention was elsewhere, with others trying to injure and exhaust him.

Alex's vision started to go red. His mind didn't realize it, but the death rage was almost on him.

There was no sounding of a horn. There was no call to arms. There was no whoop of excitement. There was only the sound of thousands of pounds of metal impacting with the flesh of bodies.

Unsure of what was occuring, the rational bits of Alex's mind struggled to process what happened. Bodies were flying everywhere. The enemy was screaming in horror and rage. The first sound he could put a name too was the squeal of Jake brakes.

It was a semi truck with no trailer but it had reinforcements welded into it. The frame had been recovered with tilted angular plates of steel. Steel was joined by rounded domes and bulges that deflected attacks. Hard edges and spikes made climbing it into a hazard.

Its front featured a cow catcher, like an old train. Its momentum alone was a deadly weapon. The brakes were crying in protest. It exited the enemy's ranks and spun in a loop nearly up ending where it started, ready for another pass.

The mishmash legion of horrors fled in terror at the damage the first pass had done. Their cause was futile. None could run faster then the accelerating steel colossus.

Alex shouted a rallying cry. Defenders surged into a sally to take advantage of the confusion. Bodies were tossed broken into the air in the wake of the surging truck and they were quickly executed by the vengeful defenders.

Dark magic rent the air as one of the wyrmspawn sent a wave of necrosis and decay at the vehicle. The semi's armor rusted but held. The tires were not so fortunate. The juggernaut sped onwards, crushing the spell-slinging wyrmspawn as sparks flew from its rims, cutting grooves into the pavement as the truck bottomed out and came to rest. The screech of twisting metal was deafening.

In triumph, the monstrosities rushed forward, exahalierated that the massive machine had been taken down. They climbed the body of the vehicle, battering it mercilessly, trying to rip open a window slit, door or even just claw into the machinery at the heart of the craft that had killed so many of their fellows.

The defenders of New Orleans raced to strike at the rear of their foes only to be turned back as a burst of flame spewed forth from around the truck. Long gouts of fire vented the remains of the crippled giant's gasoline in a way that was obviously engineered to damage a throng of attackers.

The largest beast of corruption left was a thin gangly mutant with limbs that were all sinew and warty skin. It had deceptive strength and ripped the vision slit on the driver's door to almost twice its original size.

With a resounding 'pop,' the door came flying off, propelled by explosives. The door and mutant both shot backward with spine breaking force back into the flames as a tall red head in a brown pinchfront hat and leather jacket pulled herself out of the cab and kicked a booted foot into the next nearest attacker's face. Receiving a face full of leather ropers, it stumbled back and found twin colt peacemakers pointed at it. In unison both guns flared.

Alex stopped. A sudden pain hit him so hard he had to be sure he hadn't been the one shot.

"Oh fuck, that's Tex," said Leo from just behind Alex.

Alex reeled. A myriad of thoughts raced through his mind as it cleared from its haze. _Why was Leo back? What happened to the evacuation?_ Behind Leo there more people _. Were they coming to fight? Where were they from?_

Profanity and gunfire rang out into the growing din of renewed battle. Alex tossed aside these questions and resumed his own fighting. He knew standing still looking about like a dumbass would only mark him as an unalert target. They would have time to figure out the score when the game was over.

Alex kept waiting for a fresh wave of enemies to hit them, for their advance to grind to a halt. It didn't. They kept pushing, driving the invaders from the edge of their borders into the swamp on the northwest edge of Lake Pontchartrain. The defenders of New Orleans did not pursue. They knew the few fleeing enemies would have cover out there. Snipers were also a possibility. Alex was also exhausted. He knew if he was tired, everyone was likely ready to drop.

"Halt, HOLD!" Alex shouted as he resumed human form.

"Fuck, we should chase them back to the pits of hell, Chuck! You know they'll be back for more," Tex argued.

A younger werewolf spoke up. "His name's Alex."

Leo smiled. "She's always called him 'Chuck.' It's short for Chuck Roast."

"Chuck Roast?" the younger werewolf asked, obviously puzzled.

"Well, he's a big ol' pile of meat, kid. Look at him! Even as a human he's near eight feet tall and weighs over 500 lbs," Tex shot back, still scanning the way ahead.

"What the hell are you doing here, Tex?" Alex asked in a voice that was neither friendly nor angry. It was the voice of a man who was too physically tired to deal with something so emotionally draining as seeing one's ex.

"I'd never come here, at least not when you were in town, but I couldn't stay away, Alex. I couldn't stay away and let you die. When I heard the call to arms, I left Houston. Funny though, I figured someone would stop me in the Apocalypse Battle Wagon, but no one did. I guess the cops had more important things to worry about," Tex said, a note of nervousness entering her voice that seldom came out in public.

Alex fought to keep in mind all the reasons he and Tex had broken up in the first place and to remember all the reasons he'd married Heather. He thought of his girls but that thought only made him very conscious of the danger they were all still in.

"This is only the first battle. The war for the city is far from over. We better all load up and fall back to the center to resupply and see where we need to draw new battle lines for the next wave of assaults. Come on, Tex, we can't afford to turn anyone away," Alex said with a heavy heart. He had a feeling this was going to lead to nothing but trouble.

The openness in Tex's expression faded as her internal wall raised back up into place. The cocksure, devil-may-care stance returned and she gave a lopsided grin. "Hell boys, if we didn't scare enough sense into them to give this up, then we really are battling the world's stupidest fuckers."

Other than Leo the men laughed and then began to walk back toward their regroup point. Leo kept his worry to himself. Unlike Alex he remembered all the reasons Alex had chosen to be with Heather over Tex. The thing was, while he didn't agree with most of them, Heather was the den mother of New Orleans. She was a ghoul but married to a werewolf. She was friends with both hunter, mage, and vampire. She had become a large part of the glue that held them all together. Leo worried about what the future would hold.

Back in the command center Heather was monitoring the battle. She started as Tex passed by the body cameras of some of the A.W.T.E.P.S. officers. The only thing she had ever thought could take Alex from her had just rolled into town. A disquieting feeling settled in her stomach. It was something she'd never felt before. It was a feeling like fate itself had conspired against her.

* * *

The Sweet Rest Inn

12:27 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Banyan had been preparing the hotel for a prolonged disaster through the night. She had not slept much. The only rest she had gotten was a short nap. As such, we was not feeling her best. She had debated several times going to find Willow, but she realized staying in one place where her children could find her was the best thing to do, even if it went against her every instinct.

She already had offered shelter to a few people who were nearby but had no place safe to go. The power was still on here so they huddled mostly in the lobby and restaurant dining area. No one wanted to be alone. Banyan was standing at the doors when she noticed a convoy of cars was coming up the street and into the parking lot.

At the head was Edith Johnson's old Lincoln Town Car with Kashi in the passenger seat. In the line of cars, she was able to spy almost all of her neighbors. There was Julio and Carmen Rodriguez with their little son behind Mrs. Johnson. Further back was old Darren Wilkins, looking as sour as ever. Banyan knew he didn't like Kashi. The old man thought he was a layabout. There were others mixed in. It looked like Kashi had gathered the entire block.

The convoy of neighbors began to exit their cars. Kashi went to help Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez and was handed a squirming baby Esteban. Unlike old Mr. Wilkens, the very young child _loved_ Kashi. He babbled happily in Kashi's grasp...right before he decided to gum Kashi's forearm. Kashi walked toward his mother with the baby, the Rodriguezes, and Nana Johnson. That was when it hit her. She could not see Willow. The girl was nowhere to be seen. She looked to Kashi and noticed Mrs. Johnson would not meet her eye.

"What's happened? Where's Willow?" Banyan asked.

"Let's talk inside," Kashi said, handing baby Esteban back to his father, who nodded and took his son. He then cast his eyes toward his mother's office door. Banyan warily turned around, trailed by Kashi and Mrs. Johnson into the office.

Kashi closed the door and turned to face his mother. "I stayed with Sayuri last night. We didn't come home 'til late this morning. I had no idea what was happening. We woke up kinda late and then it was hard to get here. The police and even the army seem to be setting up roadblocks and stuff."

Banyan nodded. She had puzzled that out for herself beforehand. "I know the largest group of zombies or whatever they are keep making their way south. That would put them marching right by our house. That's a big reason why I wanted everyone to come here it should put us out of the direct path. But, that doesn't answer the question of where's Willow!"

"Well, when I got to the house, there were four men dressed like they were in the army, only all in black. They tried to kill me! There were six more already dead upstairs by Willow's room. I think the government has come to take me in. You know so they can study me. I think they took Willow as bait," Kashi explained.

Banyan looked at Nana Johnson. Edith gave her a look of trepidation back.

"Nana knows, mom," Kashi said.

"Kashi was still glowing when he rushed over to see if I knew where his sister was. I went to check on her when the power failed, but she was already taken. All that was left was the smell of blood. I don't remember much. It's all hazy. Maybe I saw the bodies and blocked it out in shock," Edith admitted none too proud of herself.

"Wait this doesn't make any sense. The government wouldn't just leave soldiers dead, even in an emergency, and especially in this one! The TV is warning everyone that human remains have to be disposed of immediately they even are talking about freeing up some phone lines to deal with reports of corpses for collection," Banyan said.

"Huh? Why?" Kashi asked with all of his usual eloquence.

"The zombies are animated by ghosts that jump into them, Kashi. It was the first thing the Manifested figured out about what's going on according to the news. It's not like a movie. It's not some plague that a bite will cause. Any dead bodies the ghosts can find they can inhabit, so, yes as they kill more the plague grows, but shooting people who were injured just adds to the problem."

"So if they were government, someone would have come quick to get them? They'd not want more zombies, or worse, zombies with sub machine guns," Edith realized.

"Wait they're smart enough to use weapons? That's not good. They could use tactics if that's true. Soldiery that feels no pain that can't bleed out or grow tired. Endurance is as much an issue as skill or numbers in both sports and war. Exhaustion will start to hit the troops defending the city. They'll start taking loses as they grow tired and start making mistakes," Kashi worried, the Dawn Caste portion of his mind peeking through.

"Kashi, focus! We have to find out what happened to your sister," Banyan snapped.

"I told you! It looks like the government has her! I might have to go to Kai Silbern if I can offer him some help defending the city, maybe he can help me rescue her. I mean he saved his wife and those other Dragon Blooded from prison. It should be a snap breaking Willow out."

"Kashi, I just told you, it doesn't sound like the government," Banyan said in dismay. She knew her son wasn't listening.

"Mom! Dudes with sub machine guns all in black body armor, helmets and facemasks showed up in jackboots and tried to gun me down! Then, when I beat the crap out of them, they killed themselves with cyanide pills like something out of a James Bond movie," Kashi said, annoyed.

"What did you say? Cyanide? Oh God. Why now?" Banyan said, putting her face into her hands.

"Yeah, it's not vampires. We have a truce and the ones that live far away that still might attack don't use humans like that and if they did they'd have been tougher from having magic vampire blood in their bodies. Werewolves don't use humans like that. They're not hunters 'cause I've talked to James who's on his way to help. For once, there are more than a few hunters in the city. Not everyone is going to rush to help and for once I can't blame them. Lucy is in the hospital. She might be dying and everyone else is off trying to stop the spread of zombies, so they have a bit much on their plate. James says goblins and fairies don't like modern weapons much, so all that gear is out. The government is pretty much all that's left. Some black ops bullshit but the government nonetheless," Kashi said, rambling. He had not noticed his mother's previous statement or his surrogate grandmother's curious look as he ranted about 'vampires,' 'werewolves,' 'fairies,' 'goblins,' and 'hunters.'

"Kashi for once in your life SHUT UP and LISTEN! It's not the government, it's your _grandfather_. I don't know why he's acted now when he's had years, but it has to be him. I always knew he could find us if he wanted to."

"What are you talking about? I don't have a grandfather," Kashi snapped.

"Banny, you said both you and Jet's family are dead," Edith added.

"My father is not dead, but he's a very, very bad man. Kashi, you said this was like a James Bond film. Well your grandfather is Ernst Stavro Blofeld. He's either the leader or he's high up in some sort of conspiracy that tries to rule the world."

"Bullshit," Kashi spat.

"Kashi! This is serious!"

"Your mother's never lied to you," Edith interjected.

"The hell she hasn't! I have papers to prove it! The old man offered to pay child support and she threw it back into his face."

"How did you...? When did you see your father?" Banyan asked.

"Last night. He showed up and nearly ruined my date with Sayuri before it started. I know he offered you money. I know you refused it for some reason. He never spent it. Instead, he banked it all under my name. I'm planning to split half of it with Willow. It can pay for college and junk! It's millions of dollars! Instead of working all the time you could have spent some time with us and not always been scrimping by. Did you have to make him the villian that much that you couldn't even take his child support checks?" Kashi exploded. He had not realized how much he resented his mother for not being there until now.

"I can't...I can't deal with this right now," Banyan said as she snatched her purse and stormed out of the office.

Kashi stood there blinking. "Did she just run away from me?" he asked the air.

"Child, I would let her be. I've seen her this mad before with Jin. You best let her cool herself off before you go - Child! Are you not listening to a word I-" Nana said as Kashi headed out after his mother, leaving the old woman alone in Banyan's office.

Kashi stormed out from behind the front desk into the lobby. He caught a glimpse of his mother ducking into a door that led to the kitchen. He knew were his mom would be going. There was a back way out of the hotel through the kitchens near the loading dock, out of sight of the customers and front desk. Kashi burst through the pristine and dark kitchen and made a right turn to the hallway behind the ballrooms. At the end of the hallway was the door that led to the loading area.

Outside was an awning that kept the rain off the dock. Banyan was leaning against a support pillar. The cherry colored glow of a lit cigarette framed her face.

"Jesus H. Christ! You've started smoking too!" Kashi exclaimed.

"YES, Kashi! I started smoking again. Jet got me started when I was first working waiting tables and I quit when I was pregnant with Willow, but I started up again the night Bree told me you had been running around risking your life fighting a shadow war with all sorts of supernatural things that shouldn't even exist! Oh! And the best part that you were dragging your sister along for the ride."

Kashi's face twisted in annoyance and anger. "I never dragged Willow ANYWHERE! I told her to stay home and be quiet! She's the one who started sticking her nose in where it didn't belong! Just like fucking blabbermouth Bree, queen of sanctimony."

"KASHI! Language! And do you even know what that means?"

"Yes, I know what it _means_ ," he shouted, probably louder than he meant to. "Nana uses it all the time to describe the better than you old biddies in church who act like they personally suckled at the Virgin Mary's tit!"

Banyan sighed. "Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned," she said closing her eyes.

Kashi stood there, mute. He'd only seen his mother quote from the Buddha a few times in his life. The most memorable was after she'd caught him and Sam screwing around. It was right before they'd had the talk about sex. After she'd refocused herself, the conversation had been much more productive. Rather then screaming at each other they had talked.

However, before any real talk could happen, an itchy feeling began to crawl up Kashi's spine as he waited for his mom to center herself and resume speaking. It built into a pins and needles sting. Then, without knowing why, the power inside him twisted him suddenly to the side as golden sparks flared from his forehead. He felt the ring of air following the bullet he'd just dodged brush his face. Someone had just tried to shoot him.

Instinctively, he whirled and charged the direction the bullet had come from. He spotted the man who shot at him, crouched between two cars in the back parking lot. He leapt on the man, tackling him. Rather than fortify his hands, he directed his internal power to his body. So far, none of these attackers seemed to work alone.

He was lucky he did so. Bullets slammed into his back from behind and above. Atop the awning he and his mother just sheltered under were two men who had, it seems, been waiting. Others leaned out from beside cars, the dumpsters, the hedges and the corner of the building. There was more than a dozen of them, all dressed in the same black body suits. With a sick feeling, Kashi was pretty sure his golden power wouldn't hold off that many bullets. Even if it did, the bruising would leave him an intact corpse pummeled to death by internal bleeding.

More shots rang out. To Kashi's surprise, several of the men were turning from their bead on him. His mother had pulled a gun from her purse and shot at one of the assailants. In their armor, it likely wouldn't do much, but he had to make the best use of the distraction. He lifted the attacker he'd tackled and, deciding subtlety was not going to help him here, pushed as much of his power as he could into his body. The veins lifted to the surface and pumped blood infused with energy into his swelling muscles. He tossed the gunman at a car which two of his assailants were using as cover. The car flew backwards from the force of the impact, slamming into the next car, pinning both men.

Behind him, the tac team had fired off some quick shots, but Banyan was no longer where they had aimed. Upon firing, she'd immediately moved. She had fallen into a crouch and rolled to a new position and fired again. The man she was firing at was surprised. Her shot hit him directly in the visor. The plexiglass spiderwebbed, ruining his vision while saving his life. His companion, meanwhile, was getting up. Banyan's bullet had caught the corner of his goggles and punctured through it, rupturing his left eye. His training alone was keeping him moving and shock at bay.

The assailant with the ruined left eye moved behind a light pole as a second bullet impacted his partner's goggles again. The second bullet impacted exactly where the first had hit. The HUD equipped in the helmet showed brain activity flatline as the second shot penetrated his eyes and into the grey matter behind them. Banyan was not retreating for cover or sizing up the situation. She was already charging. She moved forward in the crouched walk he himself had learned as an assault trooper.

Kashi, meanwhile, knew the men with the high ground would be the largest problem. He had raced to the nearest car and grabbed it by the frame. His already swollen muscles bulged as he tossed it right at the support pillars for the awning. The awning, unsupported, pitched forward dumping both men down into the asphalt.

As Banyan advanced, she was holding her pistol in a form similar to Center Axis Relock. The way she was charging and her firing stance was familiar to the team. They had seen it before. She was moving like a field agent; one who had had advanced combat training. Seeing that she had no gear, however, gave the one she'd shot an idea. He tossed out a couple of tear gas grenades and let them smoke. He backed up, ready to take advantage of his plan. Even if she held her breath and closed her eyes her visibility on the edge of the cloud would be compromised. He could get a few shots into her unshielded body and put her down. He waved for another pair of men to help him. They'd take her out then they could focus overwhelming firepower on the freak.

As the two men moved across the parking lot, someone else showed up. A Honda Accord barrelled into the parking lot and spun around. It was likely the driver meant to spin the car 180 degrees and hit them with the rear, protecting the vulnerable front of the vehicle. Instead he over shot and hit them with the driver side and not hard enough to knock either man over. They looked down at the confused, slightly ashamed face of a thin young man who looked like he should be in a college English lecture rather than a firefight.

"Shit!" James yelled as he tried to open the car door into the men. In unison one shoved the door back closed and the other lifted his submachine gun to fire.

A short blast of automatic fire struck his assailants, knocking one man into the other. A woman that James recognized as Kashi's mother, wielding a weapon similar to the armored men, was rushing forward toward him. She fired a blast into the visor of the man nearest to her then kicked the knee of the other. She had taken advantage of James' distraction and gone around the plumes of tear gas, picking up a fallen weapon along the way.

James pushed off against his own door while opening the passenger side, managing to pull himself out of the car without stumbling over the seat. Banyan had turned toward the smoke. Her original attacker had stepped back into the smoke to use it for cover. James produced his pistol and aimed it leaning over the hood of the car for support in steadying the weapon. Banyan raced around the car to the far side and knelt beside him.

"Bree teach you that?" Banyan asked.

"Yeah!" James replied.

"Yeah, it's a typical cop pose. These guys are pros not gang bangers. They aim and you don't have a helmet, so keep your head down.

"Oh, gotcha," James said taking cover behind the car.

"Is there anything wrong with this car?"

"No."

"Then why did you get out of it?" Banyan asked.

"To, umm, fight?" James replied.

"It's still running. You could have….nevermind. Shit, all these guys have are flash and gas grenades. You have anything explosive in this car preferably with fragmentation?" Banyan asked, opening the rear door.

"No, I don't really carry an arsenal. I mean, how would I explain that to a cop if I got pulled over? There's a pair of spirit detecting goggles back there."

"What about infrared?"

"Um, no, ghosts and vampires don't have much body heat, so I never needed that. Well, vampires generate a little heat after they've fed and ghosts don't feed off warm blood they..." James began, launching into a lecture.

"Nevermind. Look, run toward the hotel entry sign, I'll cover you then you can cover me."

"Right," James said, dashing off.

Banyan looked around. The rear parking looked like a war zone. The entire area was illuminated by the towering bonfire of power that was coming from her son. Body armor meant to stop small, fast moving projectiles was just not helping against Kashi's blows. Blows that were inparting so much kinetic energy that they literally tore and ripped the flesh of his opponents and hit with such force that their bones were shattered from the sheer impact.

Craters in the asphalt, broken lamp posts and destroyed concrete curbs only served to enhance the warzone atmosphere. In the center of most of the craters or, in one instance, hanging from a street lamp, were the broken ragdolls that had once been men. They had been tossed shoved or pounded into any available surface.

Banyan knew the man in the smoke field would be seeing the same. Time was not on his side. She gambled that he might see the need for a hostage, something to slow Kashi down. It might make him desperate enough to go for the obvious trap and rush James.

Banyan smiled grimly as she eyed the door back into the hotel. He had not been that dumb but he had thought Banyan's attention would be on her obvious trap. There was plenty of hostages inside. He realized he was not as clever as he thought he was as a burst took him in the back near the neck. Kashi was whirling around, looking in all directions, but he didn't see any more opponents standing. He did see James running across the parking lot for the back door. With the wreckage of the awning in his way he couldn't see more.

Kashi raced forward around the awning catching up with James easily. His mother was sitting on a man who had been tossed over onto his back. She had forced a piece of concrete into his mouth on what was the left side of his face with her right hand and was slapping him about with her left.

"Give it up. Stop fighting! You've lost!" she yelled at him.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kashi asked.

"Stopping him from breaking his tooth. Get that knife out of his belt. We have to cut the tooth out before he uses it," Banyan said.

James went for the knife, however, before he could get it, Kashi acted. He slapped the struggling man, backhanding him up the side of the temple. His eyes rolled back into his head as he passed out from having his brain rocked about so much in his cranium.

"Good job, son. Just in case hold this stone. Give me that knife, James Don't let him choke on the blood. I'll have to cut the gum deep to get the tooth out, maybe even shatter the bone."

"How do you know this?" Kashi asked.

"I told you, Kashi, your grandfather is like a James Bond villain. Who do they alway get to fight James Bond?"

"That guy with the metal teeth?" Kashi guessed.

"No, man! The villain's hot daughter who's trained to be a world renowned assassin!" James exclaimed.

"Roll him over some I've almost got it. They've gotten better at putting these in. Hell, what did I expect my intel is nineteen years out of date," Banyan said.

"Are you serious?" Kashi asked while helping turn the unconscious man.

"No, Kashi, I'm making it all up 'cause I have a very active imagination. YES, son! I'm serious. Your grandfather, Claus Rayner, is the billionaire owner of Pazersoft and secretly head of, or at least close to it, of a global conspiracy that tries to rule the world. He trained me with the best tutors to be one of his agents. My skills are rusty but I've been trying to get back into shape since October," Banyan said testily.

"Makes sense. Fabsys, the company you said Brandon left to work for, is owned by Panzersoft," James explained.

"Oh...shit," Kashi said, stunned.

"That means my father is likely trying to fill your friend's head with nonsense to lure you into working for him. I'll bet he kidnaped Willow to use as a pawn to get at you. He'd love to control someone with your kind of power, Kashi, it would make ruling the world that much easier," Banyan said, worried.

"This is insane! My dad is kin to werewolves and my mom is James Bond?"

"Wait your father is _what?_ " Banyan asked.

"Hey! Watch the knife! Don't take out this guy's throat!" James exclaimed.

"Sorry! There! Tooth's out. But let's get back to the fact that my ex-husband is a werewolf," Banyan said testily.

"Actually, he's not. Kashi's grandfather was a werewolf but it didn't pass to Jin. Seems he might have a chip on his shoulder about missing out on the genetic lottery for mystical power. Had to hit him really hard with such a large and extended family of werewolves," James interjected.

"Extended family?! What do you mean extended family?" Banyan asked.

"The Kimura clan is an enormous family with hundreds of members and counts at least a dozen werewolves among them, maybe more. There has to be over one hundred on Okinawa alone," James said.

That son of a BITCH! He told me his family was dead," Banyan raged.

"You told him the same thing!" Kashi shot back.

"I had my reasons. Your grandfather is an evil man who wanted to turn me into a tool in his plot for world domination. He'd have turned you and Willow into the same thing. He's likely trying even now to do just that!" Banyan said with a glare.

"Well, I hear most werewolves are heartless dicks who blame humanity for the state of the world and think the population should be culled back to a few million so maybe he thinks his family is just as bad," Kashi said.

"Actually, Kashi, I did some research and the Kimura clan is, apparently, the least objectionable bunch of werewolves you could meet. They are supposed to actually be pretty decent sort. Your father is sort of a black sheep because, well, because he's an ass."

Bayan rubbed her head with her index and forefinger. "Listen, both of you, let's get this guy inside and restrained so he can't kill himself then, when he comes to, I can interrogate him. I know a few things about getting guys to talk."

"Of course you do," Kashi said dryly, hefting the captured assassin up and tossing him over his shoulder almost effortlessly. Banyan ignored her son's barb and walked toward the door, moving around the shattered awning while James got up off the ground. Kashi looked over at the young hunter and did a double take.

"Dude! Are you sporting a boner?" Kashi asked, his eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, sorry, but watching your mom in action it was sort of... HOT."

"Dude. No," Kashi said in disgust. He then shook his head. "Look, I'm going in the kitchen until my light show wears off. You...just…keep that to yourself." The Dawn Caste made his way back into the kitchen. He hoped there was still something good to eat in there...even though what he had just seen had dampened even his own seemingly insatiable appetite.

* * *

Devil's Wolves Motorcycle Club Hideout

Mojave Desert, outside Barstow, CA

12:45 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Jin Kimura was mad as hell. He hadn't felt like having a party, despite the gang's plans. Not after talking with the boy. He'd kept his own company with a case of beer and bottle of whiskey. Some jackass had the nerve to say that maybe drinking alone was a sign he had a problem. What he had was a people not minding their own goddamn business problem. After over a decade without, who wouldn't want a few drinks?

He'd had more than a few and fallen asleep in the back of the motorcycle garage, content in the fact he was out now and no one was going to tell him he couldn't sleep in. That was until Smokey had kicked him awake a few hours later explaining the dire situation in L.A. Smokey'd told him to sober up and get himself together. They needed all hands on deck.

So he'd took a shit, shave and a shower minus the shave and rolled out. Seems after being stymied by the MSI girls and their pet gorilla, the ghosts had started looking for other places they could get some corpses. They'd gone to places outside the city so they could strike from a new direction.

The criminal underworld had to stash bodies somewhere; usually unofficial boneyards in pits and caverns. One of Pentex's old favorite dumping grounds was where the Devil's Wolves faced off with the undead threat. It was officially a toxic storage site. They'd tossed bodies in there for years knowing no one would want to search through toxic chemical barrels for a corpse.

With intentional irony, the Devil's Wolves had used it for their own body disposal. It wasn't like Pentex was keeping a record of how many people they'd whacked and hidden here. Thus, realizing no one would ever question a few extra corpses, they'd simply added a few bodies to the pile.

Hell, Jin knew that pedophile dipshit who'd scared his boy as a kid was rotting out there somewhere. Smokey had been rather proud of how they'd sealed that son of a bitch in the barrel bound and gagged but very much alive.

Jin wasn't given a place with the main attack. Boys no older than his own were out there backing up the werewolves, bangers who hadn't even been with the wolves when he'd gone to prison. He'd been stuck in the back watching the perimeter fence for a breakthrough. He hadn't even merited a gate. The wolves and ghosts alike had been surprised when corrupt spirits of the defiled land materialized and laid into both sides.

Seeing one melt a hole in the gate, Jin had charged, illustrating to everyone present why he was nicknamed 'Jet.' He was dodging the toxic spirits while blasting away with the shotgun they'd given him, but he'd been hit by an acid spirit. It had melted the gun to uselessness. He'd then turned to using the mystical silver klave he'd been awarded. The very one he'd used the night he killed Sean Madigan's assassin.

He had turned the tide. The wolves rallied. Did he get any credit however? No. They just told him he'd been reckless to make the charge. They worried over the acid burns on his arms like a bunch of old women. It hadn't stopped him from wielding his blade, but they were acting like having some flesh burned off was reason to be sidelined. They warned that if he wanted to commit suicide to do it on his own time. He'd done more than any of the young men. Still, they sent him back to the club.

Jin knew what this was really about. They didn't trust him. They wanted to pension him off like he was an old man. Even Smokey had said he couldn't chase after his old glory, that he'd had his hour and it was more than any human was expected to do. He should take the easy jobs and be thankful he could still help the pack.

Jin had been livid. He'd yelled, he'd cursed and he'd argued. They acted like they were listening then he was sent away to calm down. Like he was a child.

In his anger, he'd found the bar. He opened a bottle of liquor. He poured it over his burns to clean them then took a stiff drink right out of the bottle. He didn't drink to dull the pain. That's what they didn't understand. He drank to help flush out the anger. It was like a liquid acid stronger than what splashed his arms. Sour old anguish mixed with hot fresh bitterness. Together they churned in Jet. They fueled him. He needed a fight, a fuck or a drink. He needed something to burn out and cleanse the holes that his acidic scorn for everything was burning into him.

He then took his bottle and walked outside. He didn't even want to look at the club house right now.

God, he missed Banyan. She had been filled with an odd view of right and wrong, but she could also be ruthless and pragmatic. Plus, when she was mad, she was a firecracker.

Every time they'd fight, it would be the same. They'd consume each other, like twin flames racing to devour the same brush. They'd get done and look back at a world burned clean. No regrets. Whatever they'd been fighting about torched in the flames of their passion. Afterwards, they'd move on to the future without care for what lay behind. Then she'd betrayed him by hooking and tossing all they'd had aside for a few quick bucks.

Why did it all have to change? Together, they could have taught the boy. They could have shown him how to out run it all and grab what was ahead. Never looking back at what was lost.

"Bitch of a hand you been dealt there, hoss," a voice called out from behind him.

Jet turned. To his alarm the voice was coming from what looked like a gorilla who had knotty horns sticking out of his leathery skin. It was glowing with an emerald green aura.

"What the fuck are you?" Jin asked, never having been one to beat about the bush.

"A demon. Don't get your panties in a twist, I'm not here to fight. I'm here to make you a devil's deal," the beast said, coming closer then sitting down

"My understanding is those normally don't end up well," Jin said dryly.

"Yeah, tell me about it. Anyhow this goes I'm screwed. So, I don't really care if you take the deal or not. Just listen to the sales pitch."

"Shit. Why not? It's not like I have anything pressing to do right now," Jin said with a shrug.

"I'm an Erymanthoi. They call us the Blood Apes. We're born of rage and hatred. I am one of fifty demons chosen to be a vessel. The gods made champions to fight their battles for them. The Exalted. Your son is one of them. The demon lords decided to pick their own champions. They want heroes, but also people the world's taken a shit on."

"And I guess I qualify? You sure talk well for a demon of rage."

"Yeah, smart ass, that's because I'm smarter than most. It's why they picked me. It's also what will bite them right in the ass. You see, this process of ferrying an Exaltation is fatal to me. I can never be more than a temporary housing. The demon lords can't leave hell, so they send one of us with this power lodged in the core of our being. It will burn us up or we find someone to take it and it melts us down on it's path out 'til we're nothing but a hollow voice crying in the dark.

"Well fuck those assholes. They can't do anything now that the power is in me, not so long as you meet the criteria. They want to find people with grudges, people they think will conflict with the Exalted host. They even sent in more demons packed full of power they can bless the Infernal Exalted with so they'll be stronger than the Exalted of the Gods."

"I'm not going to war on my boy. I want to help him! I want to show him how to be a man. He's still a boy."

"Now you're seeing what I'm after. Could I ask for a better 'fuck you?' They work so hard trying to make sure their chosen will conflict and I find one guy who meets these criteria but will join their enemies. No way to stop this from consuming me but one thing I can get is the last laugh."

"You get your revenge and I get the power to help my boy. Your masters get to rage at your betrayal. Anything they can do to fuck with me after the fact?"

"Not really. They once had a way, but the gods fucked over most of their controls in the last war. Once this war starts in earnest they'll send every demon they can muster after you, but hell, it's less than will be after your son."

Jin pondered the glowing green monster and nodded "Demon, you got yourself a deal. Who cares if I go to hell. My life is hell already here, but if I can help my boy, it's worth it."

Before Jin could move, even with his legendary speed, the demon grabbed him and swallowed him whole. Jin was alarmed but quickly his feelings of panic were overwhelmed by the experience of being bombarded with the power of Exaltation.

The next time the Devil's Wolves returned to their clubhouse, they were not sure whether to be more shocked at the gigantic emerald statue of a demon ape in their backyard or the fact that Jin was curled up in the fetal position in its abdomen.


	10. Chapter 10

The Sweet Rest Inn

1:32 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

"Do I have to stay in the car?" Brad asked.

"Yes. The last thing I want is for Banyan to see you and think her daughter is safe. Because then I'd have to explain who the hell you are and why you look like Willow well before I'm ready," Bree said while pulling into a parking space.

"And the last thing _I_ want is for this Kashi guy to see you because I am not thrilled with the idea of trying to defend you from a guy who obliterated his own living room almost casually fighting four guys at once," Dan added.

"You better get your head down. I think that's her at the lobby door," Natalia said, gesturing with her chin.

Bree, Dan and Natalia exited the car and headed towards the waiting Banyan.

"Bree! I'm surprised you're not helping defend the city. Willow's gone missing. Kashi and that Hunter, James, are going to look for her. I'm glad you're here. We could use all the help we can get," Banyan said. She was trying to hide it, but Bree could tell Banyan was nervous.

"So, Kashi's gone?"

"Um, I'm not sure exactly. He and James were on their way out. I'm not sure if they've left yet."

Bree looked slightly hesitant. "Can we go talk somewhere more private?"

Banyan noded and lead the group of Solars into the office. She closed the door behind her. "Can these people be trusted, Bree?"

"I trust them. They're like me and Kashi," the red head replied.

Then I have another issue: we have a suspect for who took Willow, but it's not going to be easy to get her back. You see my father is a very powerful man..." Banyan began.

"Let me stop you, Banyan. I have some confessions to make and I need to get the off my chest. I've kept secrets from you. I'm not proud of it, but I hope what I've done will turn out for the best and you will understand. I need to tell you this in order to keep it straight, but I can assure you Willow is safe," Bree admitted.

She'd thought about what Dan and Natalia had said back in Kashi's neighborhood and how they'd been alarmed by her manipulation of the mage, Brad. It bothered her that her actions could be interpreted as selfish. It made her wonder if she'd misjudged Campeggio? Had she been a cop so long she'd become suspicious of everyone?

Bree hoped not. She'd never wanted to be an oppressor, forcing her views on others and substituting her judgment for their own. That was why she had to come clean to Banyan. She wanted to be a force for good in the world.

"Well, it feels like it's been a day for confessions. Go ahead Bree let's hear it," Banyan said.

"You know that back in October I helped Kashi fight a group of vampires. The other vampires that were on our side offered me information about my father's murder that lead us to meet with Terra Alani at MSI.

The vampires performed blood tests on Willow and Kashi. They found out Kashi has werewolves in his ancestry. Jin's father was a werewolf."

"Kashi already found that out from someone else. Apparently there's a large clan of them in Japan. He didn't tell me about this until today, though. Oh, my God! Did Willow become a werewolf?" Banyan asked shocked.

Bree inhaled sharply. "No. And she never will. She can't. Willow doesn't have any werewolf genes. Dr. Alani found absolutely no trace of them, which means..."

Banyan's face twisted in anger. "I didn't cheat on Jin! How many times do I have to say it!?"

"Not willingly. Banyan...you were raped."

Banyan looked at the Zenith incredulously. "No, I wasn't. I fought off my attacker! He never got anywhere near me."

Bree shook her head. "That man, the one you accidentally killed, wasn't the rapist. It's more sinister than that. According to the tests, Willow's father is a powerful ghost, one who is so powerful he can take physical form. And I mean not just possess a corpse like the ones we're dealing with now, but he can form a solid body and walk around in the physical world. Such ghost are incredibly powerful and master of many ghostly powers like emotional control and memory alteration.

"Jin didn't lie. He was not there when Willow was conceived. You didn't lie. You thought you were with Jin. You both had your lives turned upside down and your marriage destroyed because a supernatural force was using you as pawns."

Banyan stared into space blankly. "No," was the only word to escape her lips.

"I wanted to tell you right then, but we found out at the same time that Willow was being watched by both a group of mages and your father. You must know your father is a dangerous man from how you cut yourself off from him."

"My father sent men to kidnap Willow. Kashi killed them. More followed him here. They battled out back. I helped him. I had to kill them. All I wanted was a peaceful life for my children. For them to be children and grow up and not be my father's pawns. But, I am what he made me. And I don't regret killing to defend my children. This hasn't hurt me like killing that stupid man behind the diner. This killing I'm okay with," Banyan said, obviously still trying to convince herself.

"Wait, what?" Dan asked, trying to follow the conversation.

"My father is part of a conspiracy a group that has vast influence over the world. They try to rule it. They have secret lairs, private armies the full James Bond works. They call themselves 'The New World Order.' I was trained to be an agent and to go and kill at my father's command. Other rich girls had riding lessons. I was running mazes with a pistol pursued by attack dogs. Forget father daughter dances our bonding time was when he was giving me fencing lessons." Banyan said shaking her head.

"So, it wasn't luck. It was a trained reflex when you crushed that man's windpipe?" Bree asked.

"I was trained to eliminate threats. Even capture missions can turn into bloodbaths when training meets survival instinct. The more I think about it, the more I think that's what happened with the attack on Kashi. He was too powerful to take alive, so they fell back on their training and tried to kill."

"Oh, wow! So what do you think they were going to do? Drag him to see your father like Luke being brought to the Emperor?" Dan asked his mind reeling at this information.

"Yes, only they didn't send Darth Vader. They just sent some stormtroopers who couldn't handle it," Banyan explained.

"Your father is even more than that, Banyan, he's among the leadership of a group of mages called the Technocracy. They frame their magic as a type of science and seek to defeat the council of traditional mages. They are the stronger force with more control of the world.

"Willow has become a mage there was a prophecy about it. The traditional mages sent men to watch her eight years ago. They completely misunderstood your father's level of interest in Willow. Only one survived and he just barely made it," Bree said quietly.

"You said my father didn't have Willow and these mages are dead. Who has my daughter?" Banyan asked resolutely. She was no longer willing to wait.

"The vampires of House Tremere want Willow's goodwill as well as Kashi's. They reasoned that if you were warned your father would be able to tell. He'd notice even the slightest change in your normal behavior. They gave the mages' intervention a very low chance of success. Personally, I think that they overestimated the mages even at that. The Tremere ambushed your father's men, killed them, and have Willow in their safely warded headquarters in the city."

"So, she's 'safe' among blood drinking predators?" Banyan asked in disbelief.

"Their leadership has declared her off limits. Turning a mage into a vampire destroys their powers. The Tremere started as mages trying to gain immortality. They know better than most. They have a steady supply of food. They have no reason to feed off her and everything to lose if they hurt her."

"So you trust their self interest?"

"Yes. I have a coded text. They have Willow. The original plan was they'd take her to MSI and I would pick you and Kashi up to meet them there. Even your father would be reluctant to attack there."

"I take it the chaos out there has screwed up the plan?"

"Yes. With the bulk of the MSI Manifested here in Los Angeles, their compound might not be safe. The Tremere didn't mean to have their chantry be more than a stopover, but I have been assured the wards around the building have been strengthened to hold off your father's attempts to find her. They want to meet as soon as possible to plan how to get her to safety."

"Any other bombshells?"

"Yes. The traditional mages were just going to kidnap Willow and leave a soulless clone in her place. After he and his partner were gunned down by your father's men, the surviving mage had to abandon his dying body so, he threw his spirit into the nearest thing it could find….namely the clone of Willow," Bree admitted.

"Which is set to die of an aneurysm in a few years," Dan added.

"They were going to take my daughter from me?" Banyan said with a dangerous look in her eyes.

"They were, but I think his close brush with death has him seriously rethinking his life. He seems pretty motivated to atone for past sins," Bree explained, trying to put the best spin possible on the abysmal truth. She thought she owed Brad that at least.

"Let's hope so for his sake," Banyan said darkly

"You said your son was gone? Sorry, I had trouble following what you were saying at the beginning," Natalia asked, changing the subject. "I sort of wanted to meet him. Bree talks about him. A lot."

"Yes. He'll be back. He left with James. Kashi doesn't have a ride. Jin, my ex-husband, was released from prison and took back the motorcycle Kashi had been using. He also left Kashi the sum if his 'wages' for taking the fall for Bree's father's death. I passed up my father's billions because it was blood money. I wasn't about to start taking gang money," Banyan explained

"Well, it's only a few million; sixty thousand a year, wisely invested for thirteen years. It does explain why Willow was checking her own finances," Dan explained, setting down Kashi's dropped clipboard and pulling out Brad's tablet.

"What? You mean her saving from helping teachers after school?" Bree asked.

"Seventy four thousand. She got most of it from writing and selling programs, piracy and some minor data cracking."

"What!" Banyan exclaimed.

"She's small potatoes but good enough. I recognized her handle, no official rewards for unmasking her, and if there were, none of the charges would stick to a minor. That's likely why her planner keeps referencing her sixteenth birthday as a cut off for illegal earnings. She planned to flip her hat from black to white or more like from dark grey to light grey. It's funny, everyone suspected Willowisp was a dude named Will who was bragging about being like a ghost on the net. Instead, it's a girl who IS half ghost and who originally meant Willow ISP," Dan said without looking up from the tablet he'd borrowed from Brad.

"How long?" Banyan asked.

"Three years. I'll bet it's what first drew vampire interest. A ten year old genius writing this kind of stuff would be someone to watch. Heck, I'd give her 60k a year to intern for me part time so long as she kept progressing towards a degree," Dan explained.

"That good, huh?" Natalia asked.

"I have to save her so I can kill her," Banyan snarled.

"She's the opposite of you, Banyan. I don't approve of what she did, it's terrible, but her behavior is due to pent up mental energy! I think you know that. It's the same thing you sidestepped in Kashi, only instead of boundless physical energy, Willow was not being challenged. School offered her no outlet. She sought out her own challenge from those that don't ask questions or care who you are because all they care about is themselves."

Banyan was ready to retort when Natalia interrupted with a small cough. "We're drifting again. Where did your son go with the Hunter?"

"He said his girlfriend, Sayuri, was stranded and he got a text she was stuck in a location with zombies actively walking the street. We assume her car is broken down. She needed Kashi to pick her up. We didn't have a clue where to start looking for Willow so he took off to help her while waiting for more information from the other hunters to come in."

"Okay, I just need to make sure he doesn't fly off the handle and attack the Tremere. They are quite willing to turn Willow back over peacefully. It would be a shame if he started something and put her in danger accidentally," Bree explained.

"You have this mage with you? The one who is in a copy of Willow's body?" Banyan asked.

Bree nodded. "He's in the car."

"I think your name was Dan? Would you get him and meet us out back? Bree, I need you and your other friend to help me take care of something back there," Banyan asked cryptically.

Curious, Bree agreed and Dan left to fetch Brad. The exalt and the mage made their way to the back of the building. They rounded a corner to the back loading dock to see the devastated parking lot. The mage in Willow's body involuntarily started. It was quite obvious he was thinking of what Kashi might do to him if he saw him in his sister's body.

"More of Kashi's work?" Dan asked.

He could see Bree's eyes drifting around the lot, following her mind's recreation of the action. "All but those guys with the neat bullet wounds. What happened to the guy who was right here who bled so much?"

"Tied up downstairs. Don't even try to talk me into freeing him. I took his suicide pill. He might be ready to die for the cause, but I know ways of making him talk," Banyan replied.

"Talk about what? You already know they didn't capture Willow. If you were scared for your daughter's life I could see holding him hostage or doing a rough interrogation but..." Bree began.

"He has no value as a hostage to his superiors. He's already a dead man. I told you pain isn't going to get this guy to talk, but I have my ways and NO you cannot ask what they are! Now butt out of my business. He's my captive not yours. If I'm lucky it will be a while before my father sends an assassin to kill him. Now, I need two things; first I need for you to use your magic to burn these corpses before they attract ghosts and to talk to this...mage," Banyan said forcing an astonishing amount of scorn into the final word as she looked at Brad.

"Um, yeah, it looks like you got them all. They use platoons of twenty four men. There were six at your house that were killed by vampires, your son killed four more there and the other fourteen tried to ambush you here," Brad stammered.

"I know how many people my father puts in a damn platoon! They left four at the house to watch for Kashi and capture him. They probably hoped they could get information out of him. The other two were likely trying to find a trail on Willow's true abductors or rescuers took. They would have all been informed when the four Kashi killed flatlined. So, they came after the man who killed their own. They hoped to put down a threat fast and hard. They failed to count on Kashi's power, his having allies and lastly they failed to count on me who knows an out of date but still relevant version of their playbook," Banyan explained.

"Wait. He trained you?" Brad asked, confused.

"You people did shit recon," Banyan spat in the tone of a professional insult.

"No! You don't understand! Your father's had children before and he's never done that. He's seen they've had an excellent education and he provided them the safety net of a trust fund. He's never trained anyone or pulled them into his life or the business of the Order. He's always kept his personal life and second life separate," Brad explained.

"I can't speak for them only myself. If you want a chance to redeem yourself you better listen to me. I want to know if your magic can call up the spirits of the dead?" Banyan asked.

"The dead? You want to find Willow's true father?" Brad guessed.

"What I want is to find the son of a bitch who though it was alright for him to masquerade as my husband and take my body without my consent. I don't blame my break up with Jin on this. It was going to happen eventually. It was an inevitable. We were rapidly approaching the point of no return. It shouldn't have happened because of something Jin wasn't guilty of, however. He might have been the biggest ass in the world, but he shouldn't have to suffer for something he didn't do. He should be suffering for things he would have done himself regardless."

"That doesn't sound very enlightened. Remember, the Buddha says…." Dan began.

"You quote proverbs at me and I might just slap you. That might make me a poor Buddhist, but I just found out I was sexually assaulted by a ghost. I think I get a pass," Banyan barked.

Dan winced and took a step back. "Yeah, okay, sure."

"I can't do that. I don't have the skill to summon ghosts, but I think I know some people that do," Brad quickly explained.

"Do you think they'll actually help?" Banyan asked with a scowl.

"Yeah, I think I can make that happen. There is a coven of Verbena Witches out in Malibu. I have a few things I can trade them. Information they will want, mostly. Yeah, I'll help you. It's the least I can do," Brad admitted.

"Are you three willing to help him?" Banyan asked.

Bree looked at her fellow Solars. A moment of understanding was achieved without words.

"I have to trust you not to do something horrible to that soldier. I've resolved to try to trust people more and judge them less. Whoever or whatever chose to abuse you and steal Jin's identity is an evil worthy of being pursued and brought to justice. And yes, I will use my power to burn these corpses before some ghosts find them."

Banyan nodded. "I can swear to you I won't torture him."

Bree nodded and set about disposing of the dead. Her fellow Solar, Dan, however, approached Banyan. "I'm pretty sure you're using him as bait for something but it's not my business right now. I only ask if you see your plans might affect the greater effort to secure the city and your daughters safety, you let us know."

Banyan simply nodded.

The Solar Exalted and the mage stuck in a little girl's body headed out to seek the answer to the mystery of Willow's ancestry.

* * *

Streets of Inglewood

1:53 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

"Hey! I think this is it!"

"You said that three streets ago."

"Hey! we're following your girlfriend's directions!"

"Directions? She just said she was at the bank and gave the street. I'd hardly call them directions."

"Exactly my point."

"Hey! Over there! It's a zombie! Down there dude! Step on it!"

James gunned the motor and sped down the street. Kashi prepared to leap out of the car and attack the undead creature. Beyond its pale form he could see the parking lot of a bank in it Sayuri's BMW came into sight.

James suddenly hit the breaks and swerved. Kashi's hand reflexively pulled the handle opening the car door. He was nearly tossed out as he'd already removed his seatbelt in preparation to jump. Leaning out of the car as it swerved to the side, Kashi struggled to not get tossed the wrong direction and under the wheels. With great effort he pulled himself back into the car, his abs burning at the effort of countering the momentum. He spun in place toward James and shouted "What the hell man?!"

"That's not a zombie! It's a strung out dude," James shouted back as the car skidded to a halt.

Kashi turned to look about to debunk James' claims when he realized it not only was it a living man but one he knew. "Oh, hey! Dylan! Small world, man!" he shouted to his mom's fellow hotel employee.

"Kashi? Great, just what I need. What are you...wait...were you guys trying to run me over?" Dylan Castle asked, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"What? Us? Um…. No! No! No! Just...um...a slick spot on the road. Is there, um, zombies around man?" Kashi asked sheepishly as he put his hand on the back of his neck and smiled broadly.

"Not anymore. That Fire Manifested girl killed them all. Damn she's hot," Dylan said, his voice full of admiration.

"In every sense of the word," James replied sarcastically.

"What the hell is it with you late twenties guys? I mean Reiko is like seventeen and my mom is like thirty-eight. Can't you find chicks your own age to lust over?" Kashi spat.

"Kashi, like you have any room to talk! I remember your mom complaining about you getting transferred to another class because the teacher found you 'distracting,'" Dylan sneered. "And I'm twenty-four."

"And I'm only twenty-six! But, you see Kashi, the problem is the older you get the less time ten years feels like. No one complains about a seventy year old and an eighty year old going out or even a fifty year old and a sixty year old. At twenty-nine going up to thirty-nine is only weird 'cause she might have teenage kids that find it weird and make a big deal out of it and going down is weird 'cause ten years is huge to them," James offered.

"Whatever. I'm going to check on Sayuri," Kashi said blowing them off. He was already bored of their conversation. Besides, he wanted to see Sayuri.

Around the corner Sayuri and Reiko were sitting on a bench near a glass enclosure with a night drop box and an ATM machine. The parking lot around them had clusters of smoldering ash piles. The cousins were ignoring all that and had their heads together, obviously in some deep discussion. Reiko was the first to notice him and waved him over.

"Hey Kashi! Going to have to be faster than that if you expect to play the hero with me around!" Reiko said with a smile.

Kashi broke into a run and embraced Sayuri who hugged him in return. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips before turning to Reiko. "Hey! I'm just glad everyone's okay. What's going on? Your message was kind of short," he asked, turning back to Sayuri.

"Well, I thought if this was going to be an emergency it would be useful to have cash on hand. So, I came by this ATM. It looked like the best place because of all the security. When I came up I saw there was a guy in the booth looking kind of panicked and acting weird. I would have driven away but I recognized him from your mom's hotel," she said.

"That's Dylan. He's okay. Kind of uptight and he reads too much, but whatever. And it's still Goya's hotel. Mom just manages...well...yeah...I guess it's sort of hers too. Yeah! 'mom's hotel' has a nice sound to it," Kashi said. This was really the first time he'd ever thought about how much his mother had moved up in the last few months.

"Anyhow, so I rushed over to see if he needed some help. That's when I ran into these zombies or ghost animated corpses. They had him trapped in the ATM enclosure and would attack anytime he tried to get back to his car," Sayuri finished.

Kashi looked around, eyeing the piles of bodies closer. Before being turned to ash, all the undead were behind cover that would hide them for ambush. The group had been using Dylan as bait to lure more people in. They had planned to slay good samaritans as they came to help.

"They're called nemissaries. Ghosts that can possess a human or corpse for long enough to be useful in combat are called nemissaries. They are among the most valued troops in the armies of the dead because their skills make them more useful in the mortal world," Kashi said abruptly, as if reciting from a book.

Sayuri looked at him dumbfounded before Reiko spoke up. "Is that some of that knowledge that just came to you? You know like since you got your powers?" She asked.

"I guess. Stuff like that just pops up in my head like I'd studied it once and forgot. It drives me crazy how spotty it is! I mean I don't remember anything about vampires, werewolves, and Hunters, but here I am shitting out random facts about ghosts," Kashi lamented.

"Yeah, well, I got zilch in that department, so still envious. In fact I don't think any of the Manifested did. Kind of jelly that you get that if it's true."

Kashi shrugged. "Well, you did a good job here, Reiko. You killed all the ghosts I take it?"

"Yup! That was me! Well, the ghosts aren't dead they fled when there was nothing left to possess. I think they were trying to lure more people into rescue that guy in the box so they could generate some corpses for their buddies. They weren't interested in staying around after I showed up. Not supposed to be looking for fights but I told Kai I was deverting from returning from my latest messenger run to help my cousin. He thinks she had car trouble," Reiko explained.

"Ahh. You're the messenger because you're only seventeen?" Kashi asked.

Reiko nodded. "Yeah. The police were trying to stop me from even doing that. It's funny, I was all excited that Kai was going to Austria for Christmas and I'd be free from his watching over my shoulder for a month. Now I'm glad he's trying to keep me involved."

"I want to help defend the city, but I have my own problems. Willow has been kidnapped _again._ James is going to try to help me find her," Kashi explained.

"James? Who's that? You mean the guy talking to Dylan?" Reiko asked.

"Yeah. That's him. He's helped out before. Hey! Wait! I can help you out," Kashi said whirling to wave manically at the Hunter. "YO!"

Reiko glanced at Sayuri with uncertainty. Kashi wasn't known for being the sharpest tool in the shed. Reiko had doubts about how much help a Kashi plan would be.

Unsure which was being summoned both men jogged over. "You bellowed?" James quipped.

"Yeah, but not for Dylan. Dude pretend you didn't hear anything. You don't want to be a part of all this. Okay, look, James, we don't have any leads yet on Willow and your fellow Hunters are all over the city doing their own thing. Go to Anaheim. Get your arsenal. Arm up anyone who will work with Kai to protect the city as a group. You know, opposed to just randomly running around. We'll all meet up at the Sweet Rest. I'll run back to the hotel and wait."

"Run? On foot? Kashi! Just go to my Dad's and get your bike. He'll be cool with it. He saw your bank stuff. He knows you're not going to stiff him and this is clearly an emergency," Reiko suggested.

"I can drive you there, Kashi, but first let's check on my dad. I can't get him on the phone. Reiko hasn't even been out there, and although she says the dead weren't going near Brentwood, that could change at any time," Sayuri said.

"Oh, yeah! Good thinking, Yuri!" Kashi exclaimed.

Reiko looked up from her own tablet. "Dylan you had best follow James out to Anaheim then go wide around the city. The undead are starting to drift. I can't really make predictions about their path."

"Hey, I'm good with that. I have had enough of a brush with death tonight," Dylan said, glaring at Kashi.

Reiko laughed and embraced the graduate student, planting a quick kiss on his surprised face. "Hey it's all good. I liked getting a chance to be the big hero. At least you're cool about being the 'damsel' in distress."

Dylan stood stunned as Reiko leapt on her motorcycle. "I have to get back to work. I'll tell Kai help is gathering at the hotel and he can make his way there. Stay safe!"

James clapped Dylan on the shoulder. "Come on man. Let's get out of here before more undead wander up to see where their friends went."

Kashi gave his mom's employee a sad shake of the head and made his way to Sayuri's BMW. Maybe they could work something out to help everyone without this disaster deepening.

* * *

Manifested Services Incorporated Compound

North of Fresno, California

1:53 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Terra had been trying to avoid watching the news. She knew that watching the continuous stream of fragmentary coverage of the disaster in L.A. would be distracting. She also knew it would not really give her a clear picture of the dangers Kai and the others faced. It would also stoke the imagination, filling her with all manner of worry. She thought it was better, perhaps, to be ignorant of these events until after the battles had been won or lost.

Unfortunately, she kept hearing half snippets of news from the various televisions and radios scattered throughout the compound as she made rounds throughout MSI. She was continuously checking on the groups of children cloistered away as well as the building's security. She also made sure the automatic systems and interns were monitoring the idle experiments in the labs before catching a quick snack.

The bits and pieces of news, she decided, were worse then the whole. It was just enough information to cause her to panic. Having grown frustrated with it she began keeping up with more of the news just to dispel the false impressions.

Terra had learned that Kai had put the young Fire Aspect, Reiko, on messenger duty. She was underage but could spread news and revised tactics quickly. Having a runner was essential given how tangled the information network was becoming, even with the various government agents taking most of the civilian bandwidth, service was sketchy and each agency and organization felt its messages were the most important.

The assault team was making discoveries that didn't have time to file through the official channels. They quickly figured out the idle spirits standing about in the zombie crowds were anything but idle. They were bolstering the troops, relaying information, cursing their opposition, scouting the enemy or just waiting their turn to hijack a body and join the war on the city as a soldier.

Ghost effect ammunition was expensive and not common, so they had resorted to only shooting the strongest ghosts. To deal with the teaming mass of undead, Kai had begun an effort to destroy any corpses before they could be possessed.

The old werewolf, Fletcher, came up behind her. "A few of the werewolf gangs have made contact. The Hand of Justice reports that San Francisco is doing well. They are sending reinforcements south as local problems are cleared up."

"Good. Kai found our lawyer, Mr Campeggio. This event has drawn a multitude of small spirits to the mortal realm. His exalted nature seems to produce a field about him that prevents spirits from resorting to violence so long as one honestly intends to negotiate."

"A most useful ability," Fletcher admitted.

"It's not a flashy power, but tamping down those conflicts is helping. He's even managed to enlist a few elementals to join the city's defense. They have fire elementals that are burning corpses in exchange for incense."

"Good. The Devil's Wolves are mobilizing and getting ready to assault the undead who broke away from the main thrust into east L.A.," Fletcher reported.

"Angel has seen other breakouts. If they were trying to flank our forces, I don't think they'd go so far away. There is something to the south those undead want. The thing is what? If we knew what they were after we could plan so much better," Terra said, puzzled.

Suddenly, an intern burst into the room. "Dr. Alani! Internal security reports something is moving in tunnel seven! That doesn't make sense. That tunnel is a dead end, but something's definitely there."

"I'll deal with this!" Fletcher said taking off.

Terra slipped on her jade knuckle gloves and followed after him. Consulting her mental map of the facility, she remembered the tunnel the intern mentioned. On paper it dead ended, looking like an unfinished project that didn't pan out. The official plans of MSI indicated that tunnel seven was intended to connect with an underground power plant before the plant's location was revised. That was a ruse.

The truth was the tunnel lead to New Orleans. It had been built and enchanted with space twisting magics with the help of the New Orleans cabal as an emergency escape should the MSI compound ever be overwhelmed.

Terra reached the terminus of tunnel seven. Fletcher stopped short as the intruders rushed up the hall. None were over the age of twelve. These children were obviously scared. They were coming along at a rush just short of panic.

It was then she heard someone calling her name. It was then she saw Alexandra, Alex Silbern's eldest. The young girl raced to Terra her siblings trailing behind her.

"Auntie Terra! The bad ones finally showed up! There's enough of 'em that daddy and the doc got their hands full! Is uncle Kai here?" The girl asked.

Alexis, the second eldest, piped up. "If uncle Kai helps daddy, they surely gonna win. Can't nothing stand up to both daddy and uncle Kai," she said with a noticeable drawl.

"Got that straight. Uncle Kai is down right unstoppable," Alexa, the third eldest, opined.

"He's bonafide!" Alexandra added in agreement in the same drawl as her sisters.

"What? Children, no, Kai is fighting zombies that are attacking Los Angeles. What is going on? Who is attacking your father?" Terra asked, perplexed at the girls' rambling.

"I will explain, Dragon Mother. I can't stay, but I came to offer what wisdom I could in these darkened days," a familiar voice said from further back.

Wrinkled and dark the human form of old Pops Rayburn walked down the hall, a calm spot in the sea of excited youth. He was wearing flip flops and a pair of jogging pants but otherwise nude.

Fletcher gave a nod that was almost a bow to the old Mokole and Pops gave a deep nod in return.

"Honored one! It is rare to meet one of your kind. It is a privilege even in these dark times," Fletcher said.

"No greater than the rarity of seeing a wolf with the wisdom to grow grey rather than die for so called glory. Come, let's get these children out of this tunnel. I'll tell you of events as we walk," Rayburn said.

"Is New Orleans truly under attack? Their security has always been so tight. I didn't think anyone could dislodge them," Terra wondered.

"Strength always draws challenge no matter how great," Fletcher ventured.

"There are secrets in New Orleans, deep workings of the spirits from Heaven and Earth that aided Alex Silbern and his friends in pulling off an amazing victory against our foes," Rayburn explained.

As they walked Rayburn told the pair of the great work that had been done before the band that now ruled as the council had come to New Orleans and the reasons for their moving to the city.

"So, you see, these children are not just the families of the supernatural beings in New Orleans; they are the future of the changing breeds thought lost that have been restored. Hence their numbers," Rayburn concluded.

"There is a problem. Even if the whole of our pack at PSI were to join us here, our strength without Kai and the assault team may not be enough to repel an attack of the proportion that would come if the enemy learns they are here," Fletcher worried.

"The spirits will provide. They tell me that they set in motion for aid to arrive, having seen these dark tides rising and what you need will be here shortly. Now, I must return. These are not the lands I pledged to defend nor the ground my bones will sink into when my flesh fails the needs of my spirit," Rayburn said, turning away and heading back for the tunnel. He stopped and looked back.

"There is one last message from the spirits, but I know not what it means. They whisper that the darkness in Los Angeles seeks the Daughter of Death who is sister to the Rising Sun. She is the gate and if she is taken the walls will fall and the lands of the living be over run by the dead. Make of that what you can." And with that last cryptic remark, he disappeared.

Terra pondered this message as the old Mokole departed. However, before she could even begin to decipher it, the intercom blared for her to come to the security staton again. With a sigh Terra rushed off leaving Fletcher to watch the children.

Terra sprinted up the stairs past a security checkpoint and into the nearest elevator. She cursed the security minded people (her husband among them) who had insisted the basement and restricted level areas of the building not have elevators that connected them to the rest of the floors above.

As she past through the door into the main security room for the perimeter of the compound, the guard within, who was, if she recalled correctly, some Glass Walker kinfolk was having a confused conversation with the main gate intercom.

Through the static of the intercom, she heard what sounded like several people talking over each other. Some in English and some in a language that she could not place, but it was neither Malay, Spanish, German or French. She looked at the guard who shrugged. Terra put her hand to the intercom button. "This is Dr. Alani. Please, one at a time and in English if you can."

"You heard that! _English!_ I'll do the talking!" A young female voice exclaimed.

"Hey, why don't you let your brother do it? You already bungled the first time you tried," a deep but mellow male voice interjected.

"But.." the female began, but she was cut off by a string of words from a crisp more mature female voice. Terra was pretty sure now that she heard it clearly that the language was Japanese.

"Fine," the younger female said in a sulk.

"Greetings friends! We invoke the ties that bind us both as fellow Dragon Blooded and of members tied to one clan of werewolves to another! We are members of the Kimura family of the Hakken Clan! Our numbers include three who hold the Dragon's blood and one who doesn't but is our kin! We have come from the distant islands of Okinawa and Hawai'i and ask for guest right among you!" A youthful, incredibly excited and chipper male voice called out.

It was then that the guard pulled up the security camera for the main gate. The people in question were in a large van and out of the driver's side window a youthful, spiky black haired boy hung out the window almost to his waist. He pushed the driver back out of the way. From what Terra could make out, hinted that the driver was the younger woman who had been speaking in English.

"Get OFF!" The younger female voice said, a hand lashing out to grip the boy by the spiky hair of his head.

"HEY!" The young man called out as he was tossed back into the front passenger seat.

" _Guest right?!_ We're not in _Game of Thrones,_ stupid!" She snapped.

"It's werewolf formality, idiot!" The boy snapped back.

The sharper, more mature female voice spoke up in Japanese again and both looked away from each other, the argument ending.

Terra hesitated for a moment before she relented. "I will open the main gate. Follow the road all the way up to the central plaza. We will meet you there and consider your request," Terra said into the microphone.

Minutes later, Terra and Fletcher were large double doors of MSI's visitors center looking out. The visitors had parked their van in front of the large steps that lead up to the domed building and were getting out.

The driver was smoothing wrinkles on her skirt. Seeing her up close she was obviously Wood Aspected. She was in her early twenties and a curvy thing at that, with an hourglass figure very similar to Terra's own, however, she was taller than the doctor so the curves were more gentle. Her eyes and hair were pink and the soft petals of the cherry tree drifted free of her head as she moved. Her tan skin even looked to have a slight blush of pink as well. She wore a skirt and top that were one step away from being scandalous. The top in particular had a heart cut out between her extremely generous breasts and revealed the pretty girl's toned abdominals. She did, however have on sensible shoes.

The younger male, the one who had hung himself halfway out of the door to greet her, looked to be a few years younger than the girl. He had wild, spiky black hair the color of coal. His skin was also tan like the girl's, but it had a distinct bronze cast to it as well. This, coupled with the slight heat shimmer about his body, revealed him to be a Fire Aspect. His bright, alert eyes were red, although it was the merry red of a crackling fire. Sparks occasionally drifted off of his lithe, athletic form as he moved. He looked to be about eighteen or so to Terra's eyes. He was in a pair of jeans and a button up shirt that had the top three buttons undone revealing not only part of his muscular, hairless chest but a necklace with the werewolf claw glyphs for 'warrior' emblazoned in silver. He wore a pair of slightly oversized sneakers.

Behind the pair, a dignified thirty something looking woman had emerged from the back of the van. She had white hair with streaks of grey that made it look like a bank of clouds. Her eyes were a light blue and she was noticeably paler than her two compatriots. Her skin had an almost bluish blush to it. Her Aspect was obviously Air and even from so far away, Terra could feel the static electricity about her. She was dressed smartly with a fashionable skirt and top with a pair of stylish shoes. Terra recognized they looked dressy from the top but had rubber soles and felt and acted more like a running shoe.

The last member emerged from the van. Terra involuntarily took a step back. She could not help herself. It was not fear that moved her, but surprise at the sheer physical size of the man. He was at _least_ seven feet tall. Despite being shorter than Kai, he had to outweigh her husband by a wide margin. The van visibly rose on its suspension when he exited.

The huge youth almost seemed to defy logic. He had absolutely enormous tree trunk-like arms and legs. The legs were particularly impressive with huge, powerful thighs that propelled his gigantic midsection forward; a titanic, taut stomach that jutted forward from the rest of his body. It was like a great dome turned on its side. Above this behemoth belly was his prodigious, muscular chest which led to his enormously large shoulders, shoulders that were as wide as Kai's and hips that were even wider.

He moved with a surprising grace that signaled to all that he also had copious muscle, even where it looked to be buried under slabs of dense flesh. This musculature turned this enormous man into a mountain, one that had to have been taking up the entire rear seat of the van.

He was wearing what had to be the largest pair of cargo shorts ever made and a simple t-shirt the size of a tarp with a pineapple on it. The giant sported a similar haircut to the younger Fire Aspected boy, albeit in a longer, shaggier style. He was tan with dark brown eyes and black hair and when he smiled, his white teeth beamed at Terra. Unlike the others, he had no aspect markings.

"Hello Miss Alani! Don't worry! We're all friendly! They call me Big Ichigo," the mellow voiced giant rumbled with a bright, happy smile. Just like the Fire and Wood Aspect, there was not a trace of accent in him, despite his obvious Japanese ancestry.

The giant gestured to the younger girl. "This is Sakura and yes it was her name before she became a Dragon Blood. This is her brother, Sora, who's proof that the spirits were not handing out powers based on name."

"His name means 'sky,'" Sakura chimed in.

"My flames reach the heavens!" Sora exclaimed happily.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Idiot."

A frown from the older women shut them up. Ichigo also gave them a raised eyebrow look before continuing. "And this is Aiko. She's in charge, but she doesn't speak English very well. She understands it just fine but she'd rather let someone else speak."

"I see. Why are you here, exactly?" Terra asked.

"Oh that's easy! We got a distant cousin here in California named Kashi. We're here to invite him to learn his rich history as a Kimura and offer him the support of his family," Ichigo answered.

"No, I mean why are you here at MSI?" Terra asked again.

"Oh, we'd never dream of encroaching on the territory of some of the most famous Dragon Blooded in the world without introducing ourselves first," Sakura said, bouncing up and down slightly. "It's bad manners. Anyway, is Kai, here?" She asked expectantly, almost standing on her tiptoes to see over Terra.

"We're also here to make sure the Devil's Wolves faction of the Uktena tribe don't try to force our cousin to join their pack," Sora blurted out eagerly while cracking his knuckles.

Ichigo moved with surprising speed to stand beside his cousin and place one massive hand gently but firmly on his shoulder. He leaned over and while looming said in a gentle voice.

"But we're not going to start nothin' unless they do first, right? I mean just cause we're prepared for someone to do something stupid, doesn't mean we want to be the stupid ones who start a fight."

"Umm...yeah, Ichigo, of course. I mean you know I'd never embarrass the family," Sora replied nervously.

"I'm family and you embarrass me all the time," Sakura scoffed.

"A shaman told us the spirits might send us help in our hour of need. If you _are_ warriors we have need of you. Finding your cousin in this time of crisis will be hard but we can send word to our forces in Los Angeles to look for him for you," Terra offered.

"How did you know where he lives? We just said California," Sakura asked.

"Come inside. We'll tell you the whole story as we know it," Terra said, opening the door to the visitor's center.


	11. Chapter 11

Sato Residence

Brentwood, Los Angeles

2:54 PM

* * *

The drive to Brentwood had been difficult for Sayuri. She worried for her father and the agonizingly slow and indirect route she had to take only served to frustrate her and increase her anxiety. Reiko had informed them that despite the wealth and affluence of Brentwood and the nearby Platinum Triangle an evacuation had begun. It was tactically impossible for emergency workers to effectively navigate and protect the area. The surrounding neighborhoods were simply too close to the eye of the storm in Hollywood and there were too many undead spewing forth for even the Dragon Blooded to hold them off effectively so close to the sources of their own resupply. A new defensive line was being formed and the cities forces were in the process of pulling out.

Despite police warnings for civilians to stay in their homes, many people were still trying to flee the city. The lines of civilian communication were becoming jumbled. The undead assault was spreading out in a diffuse, unfocused manner. It was no longer making a straight line south. It almost seemed confused with undead striking out at random odd tangents. This unpredictability resulted in many civilians panicking even more. Like the undead invasion, many residents of Los Angeles had no clear idea where to go, only that they did not wish to stay where they were which only caused more congestion on the roadways thwarting the couple's attempt to reach their destination.

Through the window Kashi saw the houses start to change in scale, style and upkeep as they finally entered Brentwood. He had never been to Sayuri's home and it wasn't hard to see why; he was completely out of his element. Surrounded by the beautifully manicured grounds, Kashi looked around in awe as he found himself in the land of pool houses and private tennis courts. Signs they had passed indicated her house was only a quick drive away from the private Saint Mary's University and only a few blocks from the Getty Center. When the pair had finally pulled in through the gates, Kashi looked around amazed.

"This looks like Uncle Phil's house on the _Fresh Prince of Bel-Air_."

"Well, Bel-Air is just across the highway, Kashi."

As they pulled up the drive, Kashi saw several lower-end vehicles parked along the side of the house. "Looks like there are some people in the house," Kashi pointed out.

"Most likely the staff. I'm sure they're on edge," she said as she parked the car by the front door. As they unbuckled, Sayuri casted a quick glance at Kashi and grimaced. "I don't want them to think you're a looter or something. Why don't you wait here? I'll go talk to them," she said as she exited her BMW and shut the door. "I'll just be a moment," she waved while sprinting off for the door.

"Umm..." Kashi began with an outstretched arm before looking down at his clothing. He realized his rushed attempts to clean himself had not exactly been thorough and he wasn't sure if that would have even helped. His clothing was stained, sweaty, and singed in several places. His cursory examination even uncovered a bullet hole in his hoodie. He decided Sayuri had a point.

The carriage house was just down the drive, and, having nothing else to do, he decided to check it out. He found lawn equipment laying where someone had stopped their work to try to prepare the house for a disaster. A nearby pile of brush abandoned in the tree line further illustrated a rush to leave. He noticed a canister of gasoline. He looked around and shrugged. He figured he might as well refill Sayuri's gas tank. Who knew if they'd find a place to fill up on the trip back to Inglewood.

As he was refueling the car, he heard the door close and saw Sayuri heading back to the car at a quickened pace. "Dad's gone, "she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "He left to join a work friend who has an old fallout shelter," she explained.

"You mean like one of those nuclear survival things?" Kashi asked, puzzled.

"Yes. It's old. It was from the Cold War but it was kept up in case of a fire, an earthquake or looters. He asked dad and few other people he knew if they wanted to join him and they're locked up in a literal bunker. I can't get to him!" Sayuri said. She sounded less worried and more angry.

"Hey, it'll be alright. I mean, if they're in an old bunker, they're pretty safe, right?" Kashi said soothingly.

"He left everyone else!" she exploded throwing her hands in the air. "The staff have been with us for as long as I can remember Kashi! They're like family to us, I mean, to me at least, and he ran off and left them!"

She took a deep breath to reign in her indignation as Kashi finished filling up the tank. He was under the distinct impression this was one of those times he should listen and not respond. He had learned a lot about how just simply listening helped him to understand others from Sayuri. She had meant the lessons to help him understand his mother and sister. He found it was helping him with just about everyone including Sayuri herself. He loved her. He wanted to understand her frustration. Sometimes, a person just needed to rant to let vent their problems. He reigned in his natural tendency to try to help as he could think of no solution to her problem anyway. He shook his head in resignation of the tragedy to show he was listening and on her side.

"They were going to stay here. They thought it would be safe," she finished with her emotions more under control this time.

Kashi capped the gasoline can and set it down. "Um...do they have anywhere else to go? Mom still might have room at the hotel."

"They do. Most have family outside of the city. They are going to go, but I have to help them pack up some essentials."

"Alright, but we need to hurry," he said cocking his head in an attempt to listen more closely to the oncoming hordes Reiko had promised were heading their direction. "It sounds like those undead are getting closer. There isn't much time. Is there anything I can do to help?" Kashi asked, urgency creeping into his voice.

"No. I still think you looking like that would do more harm than good. Just keep a lookout. We won't be long," Sayuri reassured him.

Kashi jogged away to a raised portion of the lawn that gave him the best view he could get of the approaching danger. He was prepared to warn the people in the house to get out now if need be. From his vantage point, he couldn't see much but he could hear the sounds of conflict growing closer. Kashi had no desire to get tangled up in that mess and as the minutes ticked away, his anxiety over it grew. He had just about decided they were cutting it too close and was about to turn back to the house to get Sayuri when he heard a tiny voice call out to him.

"Hello!"

Kashi looked around, confused. He didn't see anyone around.

"Over here!" The voice called again.

Kashi whirled, looking in another direction.

"No! Here, silly!" The voice called again.

Wondering if it was ghost, Kashi called upon his power. Essence fortified his body, preparing it for battle. The golden brand on his forehead appeared, luminous with the colors of the dawn. "Don't mess with me!" He warned.

"Oh my! It's a Golden General!" The voice peeped in surprise.

"Who's that?!" Kashi shouted.

"Very sorry, sir! We meant no disrespect! It is us! Right here!" From the thicket of Italian cypress trees designed to give privacy walked three creatures made of sticks, each one stood no more than two feet tall. Standing still, they looked like nothing more than a brush pile.

"What are you?! Do you want to fight!?" Kashi asked.

"Oh yes sir! It would be our honor to fight for you oh Golden One!" The leader of the tiny stick men exclaimed.

"No I mean... Hold on. You want to fight _FOR_ me?" Kashi asked, trying to process this odd turn of events.

"If you will have us, sir! We are but humble Stick Knights of the Elemental Court of Wood! We have journeyed to this fair place to ensure the nearby Fire Courts didn't burn this place in their exuberance."

"Fire Courts?" Kashi asked, confused.

"Fire elementals came to the land just south of here intent on balancing the elements by burning those lands down. This area is not out of balance so we came to defend it should they seek to spread the fires too far like the bunch of greedy opportunists they are!" The stick man explained, his cadence taking a decided militaristic lilt.

"What? You mean there's other stuff besides undead trying to tear up my city?" Kashi lamented.

"Not so far, sir, they seem to have calmed down rather remarkably. We were just about to leave but if you need us we will gladly serve!" The tiny stick person offered throwing a salute.

"I...I yeah, I guess, we really need some help here. I'm not sure what you can do. There are zombies coming up the road and my girlfriend is helping the people in the house load up to evacuate," Kashi said as he raised his arm to rub the back of his head and looked back toward Sayuri's home.

He wondered if the little stick men could help load things. They were so small, each only the width of a branch. Kashi couldn't imagine they could lift much given their size. Perhaps the little things could keep watch while he helped Sayuri.

"Do not worry, general. We will hold them off while the civilians flee!" the little branch man said with pride. And with that, he pulled his tiny sword and shield to attention and cast his head behind him. "TO ARMS!" he shouted and some two dozen small stick men appeared from the trees and ran behind their leader out into the street and then charged up it.

Kashi stood open mouthed in shocked disbelief. The poor little things would never be able to stop zombies well over twice their height and more than a hundred times their mass. He swore and then sprinted after them.

The little spirits did not lack for speed and surprisingly out paced Kashi, despite his own impressive dash. He made it to the top of a hill and cresting it, saw the little knights had made it to the bottom. Looking up at the next rise, Kashi saw the undead were closer than he feared. The fighting seemed well behind them so the sounds of the conflict he heard were not where the advance of the undead were. The knights were almost to that line of advance.

Kashi paused for a second. He debated turning to warn Sayuri to get everyone out now or rushing in to help before the tiny stick men were snapped like the twigs they appeared to be.

Before he could decide, the first ghost piloted corpse charged, screaming an alert to its fellows. The undead horde then surged down the hill into the valley. The seemingly insignificant stick figures formed a line and raised their little branch swords and bark shields.

Suddenly, Brentwood and the little Stick Knights disappeared before him, replaced by a place he did not know. Two great armies were clashing. One of the greatest that humanity had to offer, the others demons from the deepest reaches of hell.

 _The outcome was clear before the battle started. The demons would rampage down the hill. His troops were at a decided disadvantaged despite their newest equipment in the war. The gods of old had outmaneuvered him yet again. For the third time this week he had been forced into a terrain that did not favor him. A killing field was what this would become, a valley flowing with the blood of the men and women that followed him into battle. His hands clenched into tight fists and the golden bracers around his forearms stretched with his bulging muscles. 'Not this time,' he murmured to himself as he reached inside to find a handhold on his power._

Kashi winced at the initial clash as demons turned back to undead and humans returned to Stick Knights. The strange memory gone, and with no time to dwell on it, he reflexively pushed the power he had summoned into into his muscles and jumped, increasing his leaping distance many times. The scene in front of him was dramatic but he was already in mid leap before he truly realized what was happening.

As he was flying through the air he saw that the little stick men were pushing the undead back. They hit with the strength of full sized humans and wielded their little swords with the ease of veteran troops. The weapons might have looked like sticks but they were as strong as steel. The blunt edges hit like tonfas. They broke legs and, when the enemy fell, crushed skulls. The size of the stick knights made it difficult for the slower moving undead to target as the knights dipped and weaved around the walking corpses and over the felled ones.

Kashi landed amongst the enemy at the terminus of his essence fueled leap and began beating back the undead with powerful blows that sent his foes staggering backwards. His anima erupted into a bonfire that made even these fearless troops wary of his power.

In the distance he saw several beacons of power similar to his own. He immediately recognized one as Kai Silbern. He had seen his totemic display on the news. Kashi had been thinking of finding the giant Austrian, but not like this. Not when there would be troops and cameras and people he couldn't trust not to turn him over to some government lab.

"Hey! Good job guys! You're pushing them back! Can you keep it up?" Kashi asked still astounded at the little elementals' power.

"Oh, yes sir!" The leader exclaimed.

"Good! Hey! Go toward those lights. Drive the enemy back to them. Once there follow the big mans orders. I have to get back to make sure everyone is evacuating," Kashi ordered.

"Drive the enemy back until we reach the Dragon Blooded. Aye, sir, we will do as you command!" The knight defly took out a kneecap then caved in the skull of the nearest undead with the practiced swing of a well trained soldier. "Let's go defenders of bark and leaf!" The captain shouted.

"FOR FOREST AND GROVE!" came the answering shout from the tiny soldiers as they rushed forward, pushing deeper into the fray.

Kashi untangled himself from the fray and backed away, puzzled. The little stick man had called the Manifested the Dragon Blooded. It was the same as in his memories; the same memories like the one he just had. He wished he had time to talk to the tiny beings.

* * *

Kai Silbern had the perfect weapon for the the battle taking place in Los Angeles. With a mighty blow he could render any corpse unsuitable for ghostly use.

He was the very image of a man who loved his work. True, there was horrific things happening and innocent people were suffering, but Kai reasoned every corpse smashed was a few lives saved, and he did love smashing corpses.

Police formed lines to the left and right of Kai's team making sure no undead slipped behind them. It was a tactic the several teams of Manifested throughout the city had decided on to maximize their abilities and achieve their goals of rescue and evacuate with emergency service support. The police had armed themselves with shotguns as raw physical trauma was one of two ways to be sure that the dead didn't get back up. The other was burning them, and firefighters with a tanker truck trailed just behind the team to ensure that, when such a situation did present itself, the ensuing fire didn't get out of hand. It was flanked by a couple of police vans carrying extra ammo as well as providing transport for the officers.

This group of undead they were after had made it past blockades along the road the police had set up. There was a very real chance they could do severe damage to the civilians that were still trying to evacuate. Kai and the assault team had responded and engaged in fight. They were determined to hunt this break out group down before they killed anyone else.

"What's that light on the other side of that hill?" Valentina asked as she looked up to see a glow over a hill not far away.

Angelina had taken position on a rooftop to give her a clear line of sight with her powerful sniper scope. As such, she was the one with the clearest view. "Don't want to say over an open com. Remember the popstar said someone like our lawyer was around here? But something else weird is going on down there. I'm not even sure how to describe it. It looks like the undead retreat is blocked," she replied.

"Press the attack then," Kai ordered. "Radio the police to come forward to make sure we are not flanked. If something is holding the enemy, now is our chance to be the hammer to this anvil," the Austrian said with a slight smile.

The Dragon Blooded pressed the undead. They could not escape beyond whatever unseen foe was on their other side. As the pincer move closed, the undead compacted. The shambling corpses who sought escape on either side were met with voluminous firepower from police special forces. Soon, the battlefield was nothing but crushed corpses and smoldering heaps of ash.

As the smoke cleared Kai saw the Stick Knights and eyed the tiny creatures before him with incredulity. He had wondered why he could not see what was keeping the undead pressed. The fact that it was hard to see two foot tall beings over five foot zombies had not been one of the answers he was prepared for.

The leader of the stick beings stepped forward. "Greetings, oh Prince of the Earth! We humble Stick Knights were dispatched by the Golden General to assist you in securing the evacuation of those in danger from these undead villains!"

Kai quirked his head. "You are... an elemental?"

"Yes sir! We are the defenders of Bark and Leaf! Warriors of the local Wood Court. We were keeping watch on the fire elementals far south of here in our immaterial forms when the Golden General told us of his plight and offered us a place in the cities defense! I am Captain Bristle Comb! These are lieutenants Long Cone and Stout Bark," the tiny knight explained as he motioned to two other knights to his left and right.

"Well, it is good to have you. You have proven your power as allies already. Where is this 'Golden General?' I would like to meet him," Kai said loudly as he smiled slyly. He had a very strong feeling to whom exactly the elementals were referring. He and Terra had known of the Dawn Caste Kashi Kimura for months.

"He was focused on the civilians, sir. I believe he guided them away. He did not say if he would be returning or if he would continue the escort until they were far away, but I suspect the latter as he transferred his command to you, sir," Bristle Comb reported.

"How good of him to do so. We are too busy to rush off and find him. Do you think we should send Reiko after him? If he is who we suspect they did go to school together," Kai asked Valentina with a grin.

"Behave, Kai! Just because she's still living at the Air Force base and we can't fill her in on everything doesn't mean you have to tease the girl. You are well aware that she won't want to give away her friend's secret. You'll send her into a panic," Valentina said wearily.

"Oh? But it would be such fun!"

"Kai! Leave her be. Besides, Jay Odele said fate had plans for the boy and we should wait," Valentine admonished.

"Very well. As he is already gone, I suppose we can wait.. If we run into him, however, all bets are off regardless of what that girly pop star says. If his fate reading was so powerful why did he not inform us that the undead were coming? I have serious doubts about his fate reading. Even the gods did not quietly submit to wyrdings of fate. Why should we?"

"Sounds like a compromise to me," Valentina agreed with a shrug.

* * *

Silbern Residence

St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana

4:57 PM Central Standard Time

* * *

Jay Odele was at his wit's end. He had serious reservations about his mission and that was before this massive derailment of fate and the disappearance of the stars. Now he couldn't even read the heavens for guidance.

He and Don had done what they could to help the defense of New Orleans. Now, the battlefield was quiet as both sides were licking their wounds.

Raphael, the leader of the New Orleans wererats, had returned from his mission. A few of his fellow wererats had not been so lucky. Doc Spectre had worked the reinforcements from Mobile into a duty rotation. As such, everyone was able to take a turn at resting while others stayed vigilant for attack to begin again in earnest.

Jay had found a private corner of Alex's house and was trying to get one of his fellow Sidereal to video chat with him. Veronica worked for SETI and maintained the Sidereal star maps. She was also over the updates to the pads they all used now to make star tracking for astrology easier. He was now waiting on her to login to the old government channel they had fate woven to keep anyone from remembering or using. He was just about to give up when he heard a chime followed by an irritated voice.

"Odele, this had better be good. If you're just calling to gripe about your assignment again I really don't want to hear it. I've got bigger things going on right now."

Veronica was a pale, black haired technician who despised the emo scene or so she claimed, yet she had a purple stripe in her hair that matched the violet hue of her star filled eyes as well as the stereotype.

"Tex showed up here! She came running when the stars vanished and the world went to hell. This complicates everything. I need you to sign off on my shelving this project 'til we can take a second look," Jay explained.

"No deal, Odele. Her being there should make things easier for you. Just break Alex from Heather and attach him to Tex. All the pieces are on site," she countered

"Pieces?! People aren't something you snap into place like blocks or lines of code. Her presence here will make things move too swiftly without time for emotional healing."

"You might as well work on it. It's not like you have other projects in the works now," Veronica replied coldly. "Besides, you can't heal if there is no wound so get to the wound making first. After that you can kiss it and make it better all you want."

"I have other more promising projects like Kashi Kimura! I've been delaying his meet up with his circle to give his Lunar time to exalt."

"You _what_?! Why in the _hell_ are you doing that? He's going to need the help when his fate catches up with him," Veronica asked with obvious confusion.

"His fate imploded after he exalted. He was supposed to draw the ire of his grandfather and get murdered. The reasons are vague but supernaturally powerful beings are hard to predict. Which is why he was fated to only have one night of passion with his true love. Now that he's exalted and his lover is a contender for his bonded Lunar Exaltation, they could have a love that surpasses the Maidens' plans! They could be a perfect match! A love touched by the perfection of the supreme God himself."

Veronica wrinkled her face in disgust. "What a load of crap. Weren't you just the one saying people aren't pieces to be snapped in place? You're not even taking Kimura's sister into account."

"What does this have to do with her? She has a negligible fate. She's an inert component in the grand scheme of things," Jay argued.

Veronica looked incredulous. "First, you sound like a jackass. Second, his death was fated to be caused by his grandfather's interest in the sister. Like his sister, there was more to his fate in the stars of the underworld," she explained.

"Wait...the underworld has different stars?"

"Do you even _read_ our newsletter? Please don't tell me no one is reading that thing. Combining resources and knowledge is one of the few edges we have," she lamented

"I read it, just not the Endings section. It's depressing."

Veronica closed her eyes in frustration. "When I heard that you were one of us, this is exactly what I feared working with you would be like. It all makes sense that you don't understand your mission or even Kashi Kimura, which is astounding considering how much you man crush on him."

"Well, if you know something that I don't, spill it."

"The amount I know more than you is staggering, Odele. First, the girl, Kashi's little sister, is half ghost so her fate in our world is muted due to how tied it is to her father and the nature of the Underworld itself. The Underworld has its own unique magic. Their necromancy is jealously guarded by the forces of Oblivion. Those forces might be the greatest power in the Underworld, but they are not the only ones. The free dead have labored to bend fate themselves. They are not Exalts and their tools are crude, but they somehow managed to produced this girl. This one girl who has access to all the powers of the Underworld. She can distribute the greatest weapons of the Underworld to the enemies of Oblivion. That makes her high on the list of the forces of Oblivion to kill or better yet subvert," Veronica explained.

"But what does that have to do with her brother dying by his grandfather's hands? Kashi's grandfather isn't a servant of Oblivion! Claus Rayner wants the bureaucratic Technocracy to rule man in a soulless deathgrip."

"Don't be so sure of his goals. He's tricky, that one, and the power to fight Oblivion is the power to rally the underworld to your cause. Power is power and those with big plans feel the need for every scrap of it they can get. Fate made sure the girl would have a defender and his death would drive a wedge between the Underworld's savior and her grandfather. It was fated that once he was dead, Willow would revive her brother with the power of necromancy into a very potent revenant. He would seek revenge AND continue his war on Claus until his son, conceived from his lone night of passion with his beloved, was able to finally kill Claus Rayner and avenge his father, setting his father's wayward spirit into its next life in peace."

"That's terrible!" Jay Odele lamented, horrified.

"Tragic? Yes. It's almost Shakespearean in its intensity," Veronica nodded.

"No! It's not! It blows right past drama into melodrama! It's stupid. STUPID! It's a good thing he exalted and all of that is moot. He can be happy and live in contentment with Sayuri," Jay countered.

Veronica snorted. "I doubt it. Heroes are rarely happy or content. If they were, they wouldn't be heroes would they? If you want to bring someone peace go do your damn job. Alex isn't happy or content with his lot in life. Heather and the vampire who saved her life, Keith, had not yet been written into fate when she became a ghoul. Her presence disrupted the path of Alex's life. He was supposed to marry Tex, help his fellows set up in New Orleans while remaining a resident of California along with his family. Much of the misadventures out there would never have occurred if he had, but it's gone from simmer to boil now that that the Kuei-jin are back. He has to return to California so they will have a court to negotiate with. He and Tex can, once united, rally the local werewolves and hunters into a united front. This will give Ming Xiao reason to turn south rather than north, taking further pressure off New Orleans and allow them to make further inroads with more tolerant groups of supernaturals while preventing a distracting war between Cainite and Kuei-jin from sapping the strength of the North American supernaturals," Veronica barked at Jay.

"But it's going to tear so much apart! His relationship with his wife, the lives of his children and it will strain all the mutual friendships they have in New Orleans. I don't see this making them any stronger and it has a great chance to backfire with us rushing it like this!" Jay exclaimed.

"The numbers say otherwise, Odele. The decision was made sixty-six for and thirty-four against. You lost. It's policy now and I don't care what curveballs the world is throwing us, we stick to the plan. If we just go making it up as we go along we'll get chaos tearing at a pattern that has no unity! Rather than a solid fabric that can resist our enemies' attacks we'll have nothing. Besides, we have people like you to be all lovey dovey and smooth things over for us. Now stop belly-aching and get it done because if you don't, you might never see your little pet project again. You've left him without allies and his grandfather is still going to come for him at some point. You even managed to bungle your way into removing the other lead contender for his Lunar partner that Brandon guy."

"His chances of exalting were negligible. Sayuri had him beat by a four to one margin."

"Yeah that sounds impressive but eight percent versus two isn't that exciting of an increase."

"It was more than that!" Jay fumed.

"Yeah, well, I don't trust your numbers over mine. Look, I have serious matters to attend to. Get your job done. I swear, if you leave before the job is finished you are not going to want to see the report we give the others on your mission," Veronica threatened

"Oh? What? You'll give me a frowny face on my take home?" Jay asked snarkily.

"We Endings Castes don't just point out obstacles to fate, Jay, we remove them. You don't want to become an obstacle in our eyes," she said darkly

Jay's jaw dropped in shock unable to believe what he had heard. Veronica flicked off the feed before he could come up with a response to the threat. He sat glaring at the pad for some time. He had moments when he hated his fellow Sidereals. More than that, though, he hated that so many fates remained so far from the purview of Serenity.

* * *

Santa Monica Mountains

5:16 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Gilda swore out loud as the connection on the computer started to sputter again. She hated these damned Virtual Adept forged pieces of crap. Annie would be better at this, but she was working to translate and convert all the information from the machines in Sparks' old computers into a format they could use. Despite her task being a pain in the ass, Gilda returned to work. The machine was, however, the simplest way to contact her departed mentor.

That was not to say the Santa Monica Coven's original founder was dead. Heavens no! It would take more than a little ascension war to stop as powerful and self assured a witch as "Granny" Zelda. Zelda, like many elder magi, found herself unable to bear the relentless weight of Paradox. As Mages grew in age and spiritual power so did the pressure. She, like many before her, had departed the physical world for a more spiritual plane. However, she could still comune with those still in residence on Earth, as she was doing now through Sparks' specialized mainframe.

Thus, after Zelda's departure, the title of Elder of the Santa Monica Coven had passed to Gilda. Marge had been promoted from Apprentice to Adept and they had recruited their friend the young Aspirant, Annie to fill out the roster as their new Apprentice.

When three of those new fangled 'Exalted' came calling, along with a Virtual Adept, they had listened closely. It was not often the Santa Monica Coven gave out favors for free, but the impassioned plea of the former police officer had touched their collective hearts. That and letting a rapist go unpunished stuck in their craw. Some crimes simply had to be answered for and subverting a woman's free will to force her to perform as someone's broodmare wasn't something they were about to let slide.

This ghost was surely a powerful spirit. Minimum estimates placed it as a tier six entity. Formerly human ghosts rarely hit such a level of spiritual enlightenment unless they had advanced supernatural powers in life. Such ghosts often learned to use their own deathly powers to mimic many of their original talents.

The Malibu Coven had assured the Exalted that they were right to come to them. The Coven had an in depth knowledge of such ghosts. They had done a thorough investigation of such spirits due to a fear that such ghosts would soon join the malignant forces of the Void that seemed to be growing in the Underworld every year.

Said research had been conducted through the Coven's tacit association with Nikki Sparks. The witches knew many secrets that even other mages did not know about the Underworld, gleaned from begrudgingly working with the so called 'Necromancer' Marie Laveau. These hedge mages, who resided in New Orleans, had proven ghouls, upon their deaths, became especially talented ghosts. Their unaging states made them mentally unprepared for death due to their expectation to cheat old age. As such, they were prone to return as ghosts.

Also, while not as great in number as ghouls, those with the Curse of Caine running through their veins also showed an increased likelihood to linger as ghosts. Such beings quickly progressed to revenants whose new ghostly powers mimicked their old Cainite disciplines. It was a feat the Giovanni had been sucking up hard core to obtain, particularly the ones in L.A. who had been allies of the heroes who founded the New Orleans council.

The knowledge gathered by Laveau on the undead had proved invaluable in this task. They had already determined that the body the Virtual Adept, Brad, now inhabited had not been removed from the girl long enough to be contaminated. The blood still would count as blood of the girl Willow and thus metaphysically the blood of the Father.

The hardest part of this work was performing such a rite without lighting up the Coven's sacred spaces like a blazing yule log for the ghosts that hunted the girl to see. That was a complication no one wanted. It was the problem Gilda was attempting to contact her mentor to correct.

The computer connection sputtered back to life. The screen displayed a dazzling array of arcane symbols. Gilda recognized what it was at once. Zelda had linked an area of the Underworld to their sacred space to form a lighting rod of sorts. The excess power from the ritual would dump there rather than stream out into the night and alert every ghost on the western seaboard.

"MARGE! It's done!"

"Good, Good! Annie, dear, is there anything else we need to account for in those files?" Marge asked.

"I don't like the level of power I'm seeing here. From the readings I fear this ghost might be far more powerful that we're accounting for," Annie said, worried.

"Don't do that! Marge has a habit of over complicating things as it is. An over dependance on foci is a quick way off the path of Ascension. Remember, the tools are not magic. They are a crutch. YOU are the magic," Gilda admonished.

"Well, if you're not going to dress up in costumes and drink potions and huff sacred herbs what's the point of being witches then, hmm?" Marge said as she sniffed in derision.

"Oh, move along, it's not like we have anything else we can throw at the problem anyway. We've used every ward and every blessing we know tied to every object of power and significance we can free up. It's time to shit or get off the pot," Gilda said with finality.

"Well, you might be right there," Marge replied as she surveyed the room. "Alright, you four, come here. Stand were I indicate and don't say or touch anything! Brad! You are going to sit quietly there. Don't MOVE! I'm serious. You're not in this ritual as a mage, you're an implement of the magic, the focus of flesh and blood. If you screw this up our hook will come undone and any hold we have on the ghost will fail and he'll snap out of here faster than a squirrel on a bungee cord," she ordered.

Brad rushed to get into the place indicated. He had been through one brush with death in the last twenty four hours and had no wish to tempt fate or the Coven's wrath.

Next, she turned to Bree. "You're doing the questioning, which is good, it frees our concentration for the spell work. Stand there. Remember you can talk 'til you're blue in the face, but if you take any action that can be perceived as an attack, the ghost will be free to attack you," the witch instructed.

"An honor. I will primarily act as inquisitor as ordered," Bree said solemnly.

"Natalia, once guilt as been established, you can serve as executioner. You will be here behind the subject. You'll have one chance to attack him before he'll realize you're there or can respond so make it a good one."

"And on the off chance he's found not guilty, I stay my hand. I think it's self explanatory," Natalia ventured as she took her place.

"Yes, of course, and as for you, sir…" she glanced about the room as if finding a safe spot left in the room somewhat cramped with foci, symbols, and seven souls. "Stand here. We have a judge and an executioner and so you are the jury."

"Rather a weighty task, don't you think?"

"Yes, of course dear," Marge said to Dan, somewhat patronizingly.

"Come on, come on! We've summoned demons with less fanfare," Glida groused as she took a long pull on a lit cigarette.

"Yes, but they just dropped by for tea and a gossip. As far as I know none of them were rapists," Annie said.

"Astute observation, Annie dear," replied Marge taking her place. "But she's right! Everyone is in their place and... yes ready! Gilda start at your discretion."

"Hold onto your butts!" Glida cried, taking a final puff on the cigarette hanging precariously out of her mouth before crushing it out in a nearby ashtray.

Power flowed into the drawn circles on the floor. The connection to the Underworld, already strengthened by Calibration, coalesced into a place where the two were one. The witches chanted in unison. It was a mystical call that drew blood to blood.

A mist of ectoplasm began to coalesce out of nothingness and swirled and contorted inside the circle. It slowly swelled and shrank before it took the form of an ancient looking ghost. His features seemed a blend of Persian and Indo-Aryan. His eyes were Willow's eyes: a brilliant green that seemed to shine with an inner light. His hair was the red of fresh spilt blood and braided, falling far below his waist. His face was clean shaven giving clear view of his ghostly flesh that had the pallor of the grave. He was clothed in something akin to a toga which appeared made of some linen material and bleached white as his pale skin. The cloth looked ornate with fine patterns in green and black and a fringe about the edge in red.

The apparition had become solid as a living being. As the figure glanced around the ritual chamber, it's form appeared to harden and become as solid as a living being. His survey was slow and methodical, more quizzical in nature, and yet so controlled and precise it gave next to nothing away to those that watched him. After only a few seconds he spoke.

"You call at an inconvenient time, witches. I am no magi, however, I am no one to trifle with. Withdraw your spells and I will hold no grudge. Force my hand and I will break you. I know much of your art for I was a mystic in my own time, one well versed in the arts of astrology and the natural magics. The time I have spent in the Underworld has revealed to me powers you can scarcely comprehend," he said in a voice that was resigned. It was almost bored in tone yet surprisingly formal in its delivery

"We cannot! You have been called to judgment to answer for your actions. The blood that calls you is the blood of your daughter. A daughter born of the woman Banyan Rayner," Bree said defiantly.

"Yes, I'm aware of the nature of my calling. You should be protecting that child. The forces of Oblivion are on the move. Noble Caine and Honored Abel fight to hold them back. Far too many are slipping through at this inauspicious time. Should they find the girl she will go from savior who will empower the living to strike back at the heart of those who worship the void, to another sword of Damocles dangled over the head of those both living and dead who wish the world to continue," the ghost said.

"I think we are getting ahead of ourselves, sir. These matters have a certain flow to them I'm used to. Who are you, spirit? What is your name?" Dan interjected.

"The name most of the world would recognize me by is Enoch, the builder of the First City and its original king."

The low chanting of the three witches stuttered but continued despite their shock.

Bree looked skeptically at the figure in front of her. "The same being who the vampires in their lore call Enoch the Wise?"

"Yes. I am also known as The King who Knelt, The Welcomer, and The First to be Granted Embrace. I was, when still of this Earth, the second vampire ever to walk the land. I was an astrologer, a geomancer, and enchanter. I secretly sheltered the Keepers of Illumination who held vigil for your kind to return and even now seek to enlighten you. They taught me much lost and hidden knowledge that came from your very antecedents; knowledge I taught the new God King, Caine. He, in turn, taught me all the lessons he learned from Liliun, also known as Lilith, in her Savage Garden. He came to us from the west from the land of Eden where the first family had been released back into the world to populate it with man. He was a thing from out of myth. I recognized his mark and power and, seeing his lack of animosity, I chose to to welcome him rather than hide, or worse, draw his ire. For those reasons I was labeled 'the Wise.'"

The ghost stopped and let his gaze sweep the room.

"As you chose your course of action, you might wish to think on what titles history will bestow upon you. You are the light that comes with the dawn of a new day, but even you will not save this world alone from the darkest night."

"There are standards we uphold. We expect those same standards in those we ally with, spirit. Rapists are no friends of ours," Bree spat.

"The mothers I chose for my daughters came to no harm. Each gave themselves willingly to the forms I wore to seduce them."

"Women? There was more than one?" Dan asked, confused.

"The youngest, who was named Willow, was the thirteenth attempt. Once she was born the heavens of the Underworld flared and the guiding star burned brightly. I knew at last success was reached and no further excursions would be needed. Prophecy had been fulfilled. Most likely she did so well because of the strength of the mother. She was extraordinarily fit and, when combined with the protections her own father wove to blanket his blood descendants, she made an ideal candidate."

"What happened to the other girls? To their mothers?" Bree asked in horror.

"Being a child born of a ghost is not easy. Death marks them and the fates spun by the Underworlds stars are ill. The land of the dead seeks to call its own to it. Half of them never made it to birth. Of the seven who did, three died in accidents, one took her own life when she was unable to fight her inner despair, one was ravaged by fairies but still lives as a warrior, one is studying to be a scholar of ancient funerary customs and Willow you know. More I cannot tell you. In the grand scheme of things their significance is not such to warrant more than my occasional attention. The others were byproducts of a process, not the intended result."

"You're speaking about human lives with their own hopes their own dreams! How dare you! They're your children, not pawns in a game! Who granted you the authority to use their mother's bodies without telling them who you truly were and what you were doing? Don't try to hide behind how you didn't use physical force! You used deceit. A man who steals, be it armed robbery or a confidence man using scams is still a thief! You took from them their agency! You stole their free will! Their choice!" Bree accused.

The spirit gave a small shake of his head and with a deadpan voice that bordered, perhaps slightly on impatience stated his case.

"You wish to talk about human lives? I did what I had to do to give the billions of lives walking this world a chance at continuing to live. I acted on behalf of Fate, that which laughs at your conceptions of free agency. I acted to save the living and the dead from threats you can scarcely imagine. While the gods themselves and all their armies of shapechangers, along with the magi, the self appointed guardians of reality and all the lesser magicians they've trained, and all the eleventh hour heroes: be they hunters or redeemed fae, everyone all flailed about in half hearted or half witted attempts to stave off destruction, I was taking action. And where were you oh Prince of the Earth? Where, oh where were those given the Mandate of Heaven? Locked away from the world by the last eleventh hour effort to stave off the world's destruction. A destruction perhaps wrought by their own incompetence and squabbling."

"You're saying the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few?" Dan interjected.

"A trifle over simplified, but not wholly inaccurate, a better statement in this case would be the needs of all outweighed the needs of thirteen. Just as you impose restrictions on those who pose a danger to others, I've brought forth a tool to remove a danger to everyone," Enoch said, giving a slight shrug.

"That is your excuse. I don't even have the words," Bree said with disgust.

"You do. The words you are so sorely at a loss for are 'thank you'. More formally 'thank you, Enoch the Wise, for shouldering the burdens we were not here to take up and going to such efforts to keep the world safe until we made our very late entrance.' Or, more simply, 'thank you, your work is appreciated.' Not that I did it for an expectation of gratitude, mind you, but those who rule should have the good grace to show good manners. A little lesson from one who ruled part of the world for a few thousand years," Enoch said.

"You are an confessed rapist who admits to dispassionately manipulating people and leaving a path of grief in your wake. I find you guilty, Enoch, let the Sun's jugement come down upon you."

Natalia, standing directly behind the ghost, had already readied her shotgun loaded with ghost killing shot to a point just behind the ghost's heart. Upon hearing Bree's words, she pulled the trigger, sending a cluster of heavy pellets that effortlessly sailed through and clean out of the other side. Suddenly, the room lit up with a bright light emanating from Enoch. The blinding light caused the witches to scream in pain and even the three Solars found their vision wracked with pain and blind spots.

Dan's vision fared better than the others. He had not been looking at the ghost when the shot came he had averted his eyes, fearing the muzzle flash might blind him, thus, he inadvertently spared his sight the worst of the flare.

He did not see what happened at that moment but was the quickest to see the result. Bree was down. Natalia's blast had passed through the ghost without harming him and Bree had taken the blast in the chest.

Enoch had manifested plates of apparently solid white and red light floating about him as armor. In his hand had materialized a flail. In its center was a glow of green fire; the same green as Enoch's eyes. He'd heard a description of this flame once before. From the deadly cold that emanated from it, it was clearly pyre flame, the anti-fire of the Underworld.

Dan pushed his power into his body, his essence fueling his charms. First, a weapon of pure sunlight appeared in his hand, then his defenses layered into place as the ghost turned and rained down blows on Natalia who was still blind but still trying desperately to defend herself from death. He wanted to help but could not rush. His only chance was in doing this right. If he leapt to defend her unprepared they would both die.

Gunshots rang out as gold contrailed bullets flew through the air impacting with the spirit's armor. Enoch whirled from Natalia and, showing the first emotion they had truly heard in his voice, spoke with disdain as he marched over to Bree who reloaded as quickly as she could.

"You come to me with your self righteous anger and expect that you have the power to sit in judgement of a being with nearly a thousand times your lifespan in experience?" The flail came down and Bree ducked to one side.

"You are a fool with no conception of the task put before you," The flail fell again ripping her shirt as she slithered away barely escaping from another strike.

"You've no ability to conceive of the sacrifices you will have to make to keep the world safe." Again the flail crashed down and Bree rolled out of the way and continued to roll until stopped by a wall in an attempt to get some distance and line up a shot.

"You dare to think you can rule this world for the thousands of years of life your patron has granted you and never have to choose between harming a few to save the many? I knew better than that when I was alive." Bree was able to squeeze off only a single round that impacted harmlessly with one of his shields of light before the flail came down again this time striking true and shattering her arm which sent her firearm skipping away from her. Her vision was clearing, but Enoch was faster and stronger than the demon she had faced in Canada. She blindly felt around with her left hand to find her weapon trying to keep her eyes on Enoch.

"I sheltered my people better than that as a mortal barely older than you. I made my sacrifice to Caine for the power to keep my people safe while you have been gifted with powers that will grow to a level scarcely dreamed off," he rumbled as he sent a well placed kick to her face. "Perhaps you are not worthy of the great power you have been given? Perhaps I should free it for another wielder to be chosen in your place?"

Bree was stubbornly holding on the consciousness. She lazily turned her head toward her enemy only to see the burning flail descend toward her. She weakly rolled over to take the blow on the back, but the blow never landed.

The room was again blazing with light but this was Dan's light. He stood between his fallen comrade and Enoch. The ancient ghost struck at him and Dan parried the blow away. Another strike and another parry. The old ghost tried to trip up this newcomer with the environment and then with a different stance. He tried heavy swings and quick movements. Each time the Dawn caste parried and countered. He did not fall for the elder ghost's tricks and any blow exalt took seemed to have no effect. Dan's anima billowed forth as a great tortoise fighting a tiny army that made it seem Kaiju in scale. The tortoise eyed the ancient ghost with resolution at every turn, unphased by his tactics. While Dan did not land any crushing blows, he skillfully avoided any damage himself. To a lesser foe the lack of effect would be maddening, but his opponent was thousands of years old and was employing a patience only that much time could impart.

Finally, the ghost seemed to stop, his own flail falling into a defensive posture. Dan took the presented opportunity. "We are lowering the barriers preventing you from leaving, Enoch. We do not admit to your being beyond our authority to punish, but you are clearly outside of our power to do so. Leave this place and see to whatever business you were so eager to be about. You had some valid points but remember this: it is true rulers must make hard decisions and leaders must not flinch from making those tough calls, but what makes us human is that we care. Those calls bother and disturb us. It is a large part of why we who are still human, not the gods, were given rulership over humanity. We wrestle with our inner doubts and fears, we listen to the hopeful voice that says maybe this time we don't have to do it that way. We look for any way to avoid those terrible decisions because we know every time we have to take that path we cut away at the very things that make us human. The things that make us worthy to lead."

Enoch stepped back and regarded the young exalt. "That is your truthful opinion?" He asked, his voice returning to its dispassionate neutralness.

"With the Heavens as my witness it is," Dan vowed.

"I disagree," Enoch said as his body started to return to the misty smoke it was summoned forth from.

Brad blinked. He was astounded. "Well. That was a cluster fuck..."

Bree lay on the floor. She was barely conscious but pushed herself into a sitting position. With her back against the wall she held her broken arm with her good one. "It was a wee bit stronger than I anticipated," she said in a weak voice.

"That was a tier ten entity! You're lucky it was a scholar and not a warrior or we'd be cleaning up your remains with a moist towelette there'd be that little left!" Gilda ranted as she and the other two witches came out from cowering in the corner.

Marge rushed over to the unconscious Natalia to attend to her. "Annie, dear, hold this one's head. Careful. First the salve then a potion, I think. She's bruised badly, likely something cracked or broken. Oh, and don't use a burn cream that pyre flame is nasty but it's cold not hot. We need to warm her," Marge said rushing to attend to Natalia.

Dan shook his head. "Even for us broken bones don't heal quickly and I'm exhausted. I tossed everything at stalemating him. We have to get back to Banyan and Kashi. We've confirmed Willow is the center of all of this and is not some trap of Oblivion.

"Yes, my charm did reveal he was truthful. He might have a warped moral compass and believe some utter bullshit, but he didn't lie," Bree admitted

"Jesus Christ on a pogo stick this could have gone a lot worse," Brad said again, still shocked.

"Agreed. As soon as Natalia is able to get up, you best you get your wounds looked at Bree. We can't afford to rush off just to have the injuries catch up with us. Even I'll get checked out. Let's hope Willow is still safe with the Tremere," Dan said.

"I don't think anyone is ever 'safe' with the Tremere, especially Willow. While I doubt they'd hurt her physically, and I told Banyan as much, I am more worried about her mind. I think we need to get moving as soon as possible," Bree sighed.


	12. Chapter 12

Nowhere

* * *

Willow was in her house. She was standing in her living room to be exact. She was not sure what was going on, nor was she sure how she got there. The last thing she remembered, she was in her room. She struggled to remember how she got here, desperately trying to recall the last things she'd seen or done only to have her concentration ripped away by her surroundings. This was obviously her home...yet it wasn't. Everything seemed to have a glossy, almost gossamer sheen to it.

She looked at herself in a mirror on the wall. She looked...good. There was something in her appearance that she couldn't place. She looked proud, almost regal. Her hair was perfectly coiffed; almost like blood red waterfall cascading down her back. Her green eyes shone. She'd always been proud of her eyes. She was wearing a silky sort of black dress that fit her perfectly. It was like something that Sayuri would wear. It was tasteful and adult.

She gave a slight nod and a smile to herself in the mirror before she crept carefully around the entryway and craned her neck to see upstairs to her room. From what she could tell, it was still night. She was just about to go up the stairs when she heard a voice.

"Hey, Willow." The voice startled her and she whirled around to see her friend Kimmy walking out of the kitchen as if appearing from nowhere. "I'm here to explain what's going on."

"I'm dreaming," Willow realized. "Something knocked me out. I was in my room and it was night."

"Oh. Good. You're going to make this easy," Kimmy sighed with relief. "Yes, this is a dream and it will help you understand what's happened to you. Look, I know it's cliche, but you're going to be visited by three spirits," her friend said as she held up three fingers. "They represent your past, present and future. They will help guide you to where you need to be."

"Like the play we did? _A Christmas Carol_?"

"Yeah. I guess it's what's floating around in that noggin of yours," Kimmy said with a laugh as she tapped the front of Willow's forehead. "So it's all in there with the other stuff. Only, unlike Scrooge, this isn't to save your soul. Think of it like a coping mechanism."

"I think I get it. Well, you make a heck of a Jacob Marley, Kim."

"I don't think so. I'm not scary enough but thanks anyhow," Kimmy said.

"Do I have to wait like an hour for the spirits to come?"

"Pssh, no. This isn't Dickens. They'll come when you're ready."

"Can't you just tell me what's happened?"

"No. I think this is a spiritual journey or an epiphany sort of thing. I can't just tell you. You have to figure it out for yourself. Good luck, Willow."

"Thanks, Kimmy."

With that, her friend threw up her arms waving them in mock ferocity and a ghostly sound played on her lips before being overcome with Kimmy's lighthearted chuckle and she faded as if she was made of mist. Willow smiled at her friend's goofiness and wondered how long she would have to wait for her first visitor.

She didn't have to wait long. At first she wasn't sure what was happening. She felt subtle vibrations rattle through the house. The vibrations became more intense and soon became far from subtle. Somehow, she knew who had to be coming. It was then that, confirming her suspicions, an enormous caricature of her brother Kashi came out of the kitchen...or well attempted to squeeze his great bulk through the kitchen door.

Willow's mouth dropped open as the enormous Kashi finally made it through the door with an almost audible pop. It _was_ her brother, and yet it wasn't. He was twelve years old again and as fat as could be. He was as big as she remembered him being proportional to her seven year old self. As such, he was truly _gigantic_. He barely fit in the house, and yet, still somehow, he was only twelve years old.

The giant Kashi sported the same spiky, bright blonde hair, blue eyes and deeply tanned skin as his older counterpart. However, instead of the perfect abs teen Kashi was so proud of, his twelve year old self sported a taut, massive stomach. This immense gut exploded out from under the hem of his woefully too small UCLA jersey, looked like a great beach ball. Willow remembered thinking how odd this was. His huge belly never seemed to droop like other fat people's. It was always taut and spherical.

The giant spirit Kashi was massive everywhere and not just in the stomach. The sleeves of his jersey contracted tightly around his enormous arms, giving them the appearance of overstuffed sausages bursting out of the casing. His face was chunky and plump while his arms and legs were bulky and powerful. He was wearing stretchy mesh athletic shorts that matched his jersey, and, just like his jersey, they were taxed to their limits. He was barefoot, of course, and his feet, tan and plump, was a match for the rest of his body.

He was stuffing an enormous hamburger into his mouth. He swallowed it greedily in three bites and then belched. The sound echoed like thunder through the house. He was noisily licking the grease from his fingers before he looked down over the apex of his huge gut and noticed Willow. He smiled.

"Hey, Squirt!" the giant Kashi boomed happily. His voice was a deep rumble, and yet, it was still that of a youthful preteen. "You got anything to eat? I'm hungry."

"Kashi? Is that you?" Willow asked some trepidation.

He produced an entire pizza from seemingly nowhere and began to eat. "Of course it is, who else would I be?"

"You're…really…"

"Big? Yeah, well, I was always big compared to you, little squirt. You were never anything but a little stick girl," the giant version of her twelve year old brother said in between bites. In no time, he'd gulped down the last of his food in giant swallows that made his throat bulge wide. He looked so pleased with himself as he patted his huge belly.

Willow rushed forward and hugged him. She couldn't get her arms all the way around his enormous bulk, so she settled for pressing the side of her head into his vast, taut stomach. He smelled like an eclectic mixture of various fast food items and sweat but she hugged him anyhow as tightly as she could. It was like pressing her cheek into the side of a trampoline.

"Hey now! Where did all this come from?" The giant Kashi asked, puzzled. "You keep squeezing me like that and I'm gonna burp."

"I found out why you'd been eating so much. I didn't know you were in such pain. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you," she explained.

The giant Kashi smiled broadly and gently separated from Willow. With an enormous thud he dropped to one knee, although he still towered over his little sister. "You silly little thing! You were too young and small to be helping anybody. Don't put that on yourself! Just try to remember what you've learned. Losing a match isn't such a loss if you learn something to use in the next game. That's part of why I'm here. You remember everything but there's always things you don't know or can't know. Come on out front, I'll show you something," he said, standing up.

He extended his massive hand and wrapped it around Willow's, almost enveloping it, such was his size. He opened the door and daylight streamed inside. Once again, he struggled to squeeze through the doorway. When Kashi's vast bulk had finally cleared the door, Willow followed him. The scene before her was that of a balmy and warm early spring afternoon where it had once been night.

"This...this is the past?" Willow asked.

"Yup! Before you were born. I don't even remember this nowadays. You know, most people don't remember stuff like you. Heck, I doubt I'd even remember if you reminded me," the giant Kashi explained.

Out in the Kimura's driveway, Jin Kimura was working on his motorcycle. He was shirtless with a bandana tied around his forehead. He was muscular and lean, not unlike teenage Kashi. In the grass in front of the house a little Kashi, who looked to be about four years old, was trying to reattach the left rear wheel to his tricycle. The tiny Kashi also wore no shirt, save that instead of shorts, he wore a pair of overalls.

Jin didn't seem to be having much luck fixing his motorcycle. Willow thought the three empty beer bottles at the head of the drive could not have helped. Finally, fed up, Jin began to spew a rage fueled, ear blistering diatribe of the most profoundly impressive profanity Willow had ever heard.

Little Kashi started to imitate his father. However, the young boy couldn't match the speed and pronunciation of his father. As such, instead of a tirade, little Kashi ended up uttering a ridiculous mixture of profanity and gobbledygook.

Jin turned around. He raised one of his eyebrows. "Boy! What are you doing?" His rage seemed to leave him immediately as he looked at his son.

"Fixing my sum-of-ah-bitch bike," the little Kashi uttered with a seriousness that didn't match his situation.

Jin shook his head and leaned over to tussle the boy's hair just like older Kashi had occasionally did to her. "You're too young for that damn cursing. Knock it off. Let's go get that trike fixed," Jin offered.

"What about your bike, daddy?" Little Kashi asked.

"I'll work on it later. It's pissing me off right now." Jin bent down and quickly found the broken pin in the wheel and fashioned a replacement and put it in. He then had Kashi mount up and checked the ride then made a few adjustments.

"You're getting too big for this trike. Pretty soon I'll have to get you something else."

"A real bike daddy?"

"Yeah. Maybe one without training wheels. Your balance is pretty good boy. You can likely ride one. Maybe ol' Santa Claus will bring you one. If he did what kind would you want?" Jin asked.

"A blue bike!" Kashi shouted happily.

"Blue? Well, maybe. Got a while 'til Christmas. You keep growing and working on your balance and we'll see. Of course you have to act like a big boy. A bike ain't no little baby present."

"If Santa gets me a bike will you show me how ta ride it?"

"You got yourself a deal, boy. You act big, show Santa you can be a little man, not a baby, and I'll show you how to ride and work on that bike."

"You promise! Even if momma says I'm too small?!" Kashi asked excitedly.

"We made a deal didn't we? A man don't go back on his deal. You act good enough to get that bike and won't nothing keep me from showing you how to ride."

Willow turned to the giant Kashi next to her. "So that's why you were so upset about not getting a bike for Christmas? You thought if Santa brought you a bike, Jin would come back."

"Yeah. Sorry about trying to mail you to the North Pole and all," the giant Kashi said sheepishly.

"It's okay. I mean even I don't even _really_ remember that," Willow confessed.

"But you remember this day, don't you?" The giant Kashi asked, stepping and squeezing through the front door again.

Heading inside a little Willow was playing with some toys. Kashi was grade school age and trying to find a way to sneak into the kitchen for a snack. Willow instantly remembered. This was the day Kashi manipulated her into paying him in pilfered treats to play with her while Banyan worked outside. He then had only half heartedly went through the motions of playing. It was also the day Willow learned to use a computer.

The giant Kashi lead Willow to stand bedside the little version of himself who was oblivious to their existence. He had to be about eight or so. He wore a t-shirt, shorts and flip flops. He was dirty from playing outside. He was very athletic looking for an eight year old.

From where the younger Kashi stood, Willow could hear Banyan and Nana Johnson talking. It was a vantage her three year old self had not had.

"I don't want to borrow any money, Edith! It's bad enough I have to pay you late on the rent. I'll figure out how to fix that engine and I can catch you up in the next few months," Banyan explained.

"Banny you're like a daughter to me. I don't mind, child, you're welcome to the money. Let a professional fix that car," Edith Johnson replied as she sat at Banyan's kitchen table.

"I don't want to be in that kind of debt. I can't be right now. I have to get things back under control. The divorce and taking off until I knew Willow would be okay put me so far behind. I have to climb out myself to regain some control over my life. It was enough for you to take me to get the parts. I don't know how I would have gotten them otherwise."

"You know, as much as I don't like the man, that's why Jin said he left that bike; so if something happens to the car you could have it. You really can't function in L.A. without a way to get around. For an urban area, it's pretty similar to Alabama in that respect. Everything's so spread out. You could always sell it."

"I will, but only as a last resort. Every time I almost go to get rid of it, I get this mental image of Kashi getting hurt and having no way to get him to the hospital. Stupid, I know, but those protective instincts won't let me remove that kind of safety net. Besides, I guess it's the last responsible thing Jin did, leaving it here."

"I know what it's like to be poor, Banyan. My people, before I married Avery, the Goodmans, were a large family. None of us had much, but we made it because we supported each other. We helped each other through the hard times. We knew that, soon enough, life would throw some hardship our way and we'd need that help repaid."

"I know what you're trying to say, but I have to try to do as much as I can myself first. I just don't want the kids to see how nervous I am, how scared I am. I've never been in trouble like this before."

Edith got up from her chair and gave Banyan a hug. Little Kashi ran back into the living room. He pretended to play while his mother saw Edith off and set up to work on the car.

Watching from here, with older eyes, Willow saw fear and worry on little Kashi's face. The little boy's belly rumbled nervously as he looked at the fridge and smacked his lips. As if on cue, the gigantic Kashi's gut rumbled as well, although it sounded more like thunder. It was as if giant Kashi was echoing his younger self's nervous hunger.

The vision changed. It sped up as the day progressed and the younger Kashi was continually given snacks by his little sister as he half heartedly played games with her. The older Willow could plainly see younger Kashi was stuffing food down faster and faster as he looked out the window at his mother. Finally, the vision ended with Kashi, stuffed to the gills, asleep on the floor. Three year old Willow dejectedly poked him a few times in his now very fat belly before climbing into the computer chair and turning on the device.

"I didn't know we were poor until then. My little mind was working overtime. I realized what Jin's leaving had done to us. What it had done to mom and what a tight spot it had put her in. My worldview, such as it was, was rocked. I eat when I worry and I was too busy thinking about all this stuff to realize you needed me. I was the oldest and should have noticed."

"No! You were overwhelmed. I understand. I just didn't know. You're right. Knowing can change everything," Willow admitted.

"One last thing before I leave. This is about how what someone remembers when someone else forgets can affect things."

They stepped back out the door but rather than the front yard they were in a room with light grey walls and a set of booths. Willow realized it was a prison. She was intrigued to see sixteen year old Kashi, as muscular and athletic as he was today, sitting on one side of the glass booth. She saw the guards bring Jin in to sit on the other side of the booth. Kashi picked up the receiver of the phone next to him and Jin did the same. He spoke without preamble to his father.

"Alright, so, I got my license and junk. I don't have a ride and no one has ever used that old heap you left, so I cleaned it up and was driving it around."

"Not even a 'how are ya,' huh? Well, alright. Your mom didn't get you some wheels?" Jin asked.

"Money's tight. I mean, we got to pay for our room and board. Not like around here," he added with a contemptuous smirk. It was a smirk that even Willow could see was hiding a deep seated resentment.

"We're paying for it every minute we're here, boy. You can use the bike. Hell I'd have already bought you one if I was out. A man needs a way to get around."

"I didn't come for your permission," Kashi snapped, the smirk replaced with an outburst of anger. He then sighed as the rage left him in a whirlwind. "I... shit..." He shook his head, trying to master his emotions as words failed him.

Jin eyed him and seemed to guess why his son was here. "What happened to the bike?"

"It was stolen. I was driving it down to see my friend Brandon near Compton. I think it was this dude named Darius. The cops took a statement but it's not even legally mine. Mom said that I needed to tell you I lost your property. She wasn't wild about me driving it anyhow, but she's right. It's not even really mine, so I needed to fess up."

"I'll take care of it," Jin said gruffly.

"What are you going to do? You're stuck in here," Kashi asked suspiciously.

"I said I'd take care of it. You take care of yourself and your mother I'll take care of my bike. I don't have a problem with you using it. You're my boy. When I get out, we'll square up. I'll see to it. I'll find you some other ride," Jin said.

"With what money? You wouldn't even hold a job before you were a felon."

"You just know what you've heard. You don't understand," Jin replied

"No, you're right! I don't! I don't understand why you'd put something ahead of your family. Why you ended up here. Hell, they say you didn't even do it. You took the fall for someone. Were they important? I hope so, since they've gotten years of your life that should have been with us," Kashi spat, unable to hold back.

"We're not doing this yet!" Jin barked. "Not now!" He broke into a hard stare and let out an explosive breath. "You're still too young. We'll talk about this when you're more of a man. You keep working on that, son."

"I missed you! I loved you! But I didn't know what you did. I didn't know what you were. I just want to understand why you left," Kashi exclaimed.

"I said later," Jin snapped, hanging up the receiver and standing up.

Kashi sat holding the phone. He looked stunned. The giant spirit Kashi wiped a tear from his eye and motioned for Willow to follow him out the door. He took them back into the dream version of her home. Willow, however, was lost in thought. She was thinking back to the afternoon before her birthday, to the confrontation in the yard between Kashi and Jin. She spoke up as she entered the house.

"I think I understand why you showed me that. From Jin's point of view, letting Kashi use his motorcycle and sending his biker buddies to teach him to ride and care for it was a fulfillment of the deal he made to Kashi to get him a bike when he was four years old. It was their last connection as father and son. He wanted to hear it held sentiment or meaning to Kashi. He wanted Kashi to argue with him, to resist him taking back that motorcycle. Kashi just cut that tie. I don't think he even realized it."

The giant Kashi gave Willow a sad smile and nodded. "Remember that you can use the past to guide you, but don't get stuck in it. Also, know that things in the past don't have the same meaning to everyone even if they shared that past, okay? I don't want to see clinging to things and making assumptions hurt you, Willow."

"I know that now. I also realize that you've always tried to protect me in your own way. Thank you, Kashi."

"Yeah, well, you might want to tell the waking world me that as I won't know about all of this spiritual journey stuff, okay? I mean we're just in a dream and all, right?"

Willow nodded. "Okay, I will! I promise."

"Good! I'm heading out. I imagine your next guide will be here soon." The giant Kashi's enormous belly rumbled loudly. Willow rolled her eyes and punched Kashi playfully in his huge, distended belly. It barely made a dent. "You better go feed this. You used to always tease me that you would eat me."

The gigantic Kashi smiled broadly. "Good idea! I think I'll exit through the kitchen and get a snack," he said as he turned around and squeezed his great bulk through the kitchen door. Willow could hear his ravenous gorging as he tore through the kitchen. The sounds became fainter and fainter before it stopped completely, leaving her in silence.

She wandered over and sat patiently and in silence on the couch. It was only a few moments before the front door opened and Mrs. Randall, her music teacher, stepped into the room. She was wearing a striking cream colored dress that would not have looked out of place in either an office or an upscale party. Her loose curls were gathered off center by a floral clip that sent her hair down the front of one shoulder in a cascade. Her makeup was so perfect her skin's natural brown luster competed for attention with how she'd enhanced her lips, cheeks and eyes. Willow wondered if this was a reflection of how she'd learned so much from her music teacher about makeup while preparing for the play.

"Poor thing. You're not going to have a good holiday season I'm afraid. It's a pity, too. It started out so well for you."

"Where am I, Mrs. Randall? I mean outside this dream? Why did I pass out?" Willow asked.

Mrs. Randall shook her head. "In due time." The teacher extended her hand. "First, let's go upstairs and get a look at where you were last."

"Okay..." Willow replied in a voice filled with trepidation.

Taking her teacher's hand, Willow followed Mrs. Randall up the stairs. The hall seemed wider than normal. It was then that Willow realized the dream had widened it to give them a place to stand side by side.

Mrs. Randall suddenly gripped Willow's hand tightly and a moment later, she heard both doors to the home being opened. Several men dressed in black were breaking into the house. As they came up the stairs, Willow suddenly became aware of hazy figures hiding in the hall. She wondered how long they had been there.

"These are vampires. They are magically occluding themselves, but we can see them. It's important for you to know what they're doing," her teacher explained.

The vampires were inhumanely grotesque. Willow knew that meant they were clan Nosferatu. This was confirmed by the presence of Bertram Tung. She had liked Bertram. He had explained a lot about vampires to her. The clarity of his presentation was only matched by its pessimistic sarcasm.

The men from below wore full kevlar armor and carried compact automatic weapons. They marched up the stairs at a brisk pace but taking care to make as little noise as possible as they assembled in formation outside her door. The leader held up his fist, and made a signal for them to wait. As they did so, the vampires slid into place beside them. Each was ready claw poised to slash. Extra vampires stood back, ready to assist if the initial attack proved to not be the total devastation it looked like it would be.

Willow heard her own high pitched scream and the shattering of glass. Neither was enough to cover the sudden wet gurgling from the men who had been preparing to go into her room. Supernaturally powerful muscles and sharp claws ripped throats in a horrifying way. Only one trooper, the leader, did not die instantly. He tried to raise his firearm but, he was met by the vampire backup. The creatures dove and seized his arms in a literal crushing grip. Willow could hear the snapping of his bones. They held him briefly while he bled out, then lowered him down into the pile of bodies.

Willow had her hands over her mouth. She was trying not to be sick or scream. She then heard the front door open and two more vampires came up the stairs. Willow recognized Amy and Solomon, both apprentices of Maximillian Strauss, the head of House Tremere in L.A.

"I'm opening the bedroom door. The light in there has faded," Bertram quietly informed them as he looked under the door.

"Careful. Something big happened beside her powers awakening," Amy explained.

Solomon nodded. "It felt like the universe itself shifted on every axis."

Bertram carefully opened the door and stepped into the room. He bent down to examine Willow. "The girl is unconscious. Be careful coming in here. There's broken glass all over."

"It is to be expected that she is unconscious. She's dreaming. Likely on an inner spiritual journey of self discovery. At least that's one of the likely scenarios they briefed us on. Get the glass off her and we'll be on our way."

Bertram scowled. "Hold your horses. You're not paying us by the hour. I want to be sure we're safe. I guess her scream broke the glass. It was pretty loud and shrill. Something else is odd too. There's no stars outside. I mean L.A. isn't the best spot for stargazing, but there's nothing. No moon either."

Solomon walked into the other room and looked outside.

"Is that because of the girl?" Another Nosferatu asked.

"Hardly. Her ascent was most likely precipitated by whatever's happening out there, not the other way around. She's powerful but not a god," Amy said.

Solomon nodded. "True, but it might cause unwelcome problems. I see a pillar of blackness deeper than night to the north. I would rather not find out what that is. Grab the girl and let's be off. I'll text Master Strauss so he can arrange for girl's pickup."

One of the Nosferatu picked up Willow in a cradle carry, like she was a child. She remembered hearing his name used once. She was pretty sure his name was Barabbas. He and the other vampires stepped around the pile of bodies and seeping blood and exited the Kimura home.

"They were prepared. They'd all fed to their limit they, didn't spare the blood any thought. They reacted to it but only instinctually. Like predators aware of prey when they aren't hungry," Willow said in a strange voice.

"You're trying to distract yourself," Mrs. Randall pointed out.

"Damn right I am! This is disturbing. They slaughtered those men and left them to rot, but who are they? Why were they here? It looked like they were up to no good but..."

"They work for your grandfather."

"The software magnate, Claus Werner?"

Willow had known that Claus Werner was her maternal grandfather for some time. A few years go, she had searched the web for anything relating to her mother's background, mostly out of curiosity. It had been surprisingly bare. While not going so far to hide, Banyan had kept a remarkably low profile. She had, after some prodding the less used corners of the net, found her mother's birth certificate. She had been surprised to find she was the daughter of a billionaire.

She has assumed that her mother and her grandfather had some sort of falling out. Perhaps the older man had disowned her for marrying Jin and having Kashi? She did not know and she had never worked up the courage, nor found the right way to ask her mother, despite her own normally very curious and persistent nature. She did not want her mother to know just how good she was with computers. Willow had figured she might contact her grandfather once she turned eighteen, but had made no definite plans.

"Your grandfather is more than that," the spirit of Mrs. Randall said.

"I always figured there was some good reason mom didn't go home after Jin left. It was pretty easy to find out her story about her parents being dead was a lie."

"These men weren't here to kill you. They were here to take you to see him. They were armed to keep you safe."

"So they didn't deserve to die?"

"That is a more complicated question, sweetie. You needed to see what human life is worth to the Tremere compared to their goals."

"Yeah. Look, can we move on? I don't like standing here and with my memory, I'm going to have enough trouble not thinking about this without prolonging it."

The Mrs. Randall spirit smiled sadly. "Very well. Just walk through your mother's bedroom door."

Willow followed through the doorway. However, rather than her mom's room they were at some sort of community center. Willow recognized several of the people from school and a few from the Jones Halloween party, even if only by face alone. She saw Sabrina and her family. Kimmy was nowhere in sight. From the people gathered here, she thought this must be north of school, perhaps in Ladera Heights

"They've fled their homes. The borders between the living world and the land of the dead are virtually gone during this time. It started when you were knocked out, Willow. You are a living conduit between worlds, and the power that was your destiny, the power the vampires spoke of, had to wait until this time to come to you."

"What power? Is it magic? Real magic? Like mages wield? Like the ones who enchanted Lucy's house?"

Willow noticed one of her school mates sharing her phone with some of the other girls. They were watching a video of the Christmas program.

"Yes, but even for them, you're special. You have the power to manipulate the energy of the underworld," Mrs. Randall explained.

"So, the vampires want to control me because they're dead and my power could be used against them?"

"Not quite, although some will want to kill you for that. Some seek to manipulate you. Others know what is coming. When the true enemy comes, they do not want to stand alone. So, they seek you as an ally. Do not think that means they see you as an equal, however."

"True enemy?"

"What is a common foe of both the living and undead? True Death the spectre of oblivion. It seeks you with it's most elite troops the Nephrack Army of the Void, ghosts who possess the bodies of the dead to assail the living.."

It was then that the windows of the community center exploded inwards. The undead poured inside. The attackers were not the classic, rotten husks seen in the movies. They were recently dead humans, many with fresh injuries still on their bodies.

Willow screamed but the undead could not see her. The mass of bodies didn't rampage. They didn't spread out in an effort to chase everyone. Like the elite troops they were, they cut an efficient path toward the children. These monsters were organized and efficient killers and they had a target in sight.

Armed men sought to stop them. Some were policemen, others looked like security guards. They were trained men standing in the defense of all they loved and held dear. They were like a sandcastle before the tide. The undead swept over them, through them, past them. The one in the lead slapped Sabrina with such force her neck snapped.

"Mrs. Randall! Do something!" Willow screamed.

"There is nothing I can do, child. There is nothing anyone close enough to respond can do. These people are going to die."

"But why?! What do they want!" Willow cried out as tears flowed down her cheeks.

"That," Mrs. Randall said, pointing to the leader who picked up Sabrina's phone. It was still playing the Christmas program. Willow could hear her solo playing.

The undead looked at the screen and turned to the others, speaking in a horrendous shriek. "False positive. It's just a recording. Slaughter the rest, call in backup to possess the corpses. She lived near here. If we keep killing those close to her, we might tempt her out of hiding."

Willow covered her mouth in horror and began to shake.

"This is going to be a very hard lesson, Willow. Your brother won't be able to help you with this. This is a lesson he hasn't learned either."

"What am I supposed to do?! You said my power is over the dead! How do I stop this?" Willow pled.

"You don't. You can't. You don't have the experience or strength with your powers to do so. There are times everyone has to face their powerlessness. All you can do is try to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"NO!" Willow screamed. She tried to throw herself at the undead but she was as incorporeal as a ghost.

"I'm here come for me, leave them alone!" She screamed.

"You can't do that. You must not take the chance they catch you. If they get a hold of you, they will use your powers to kill many times more than this," Mrs. Randall warned her.

"But! I have to do something!"

Mrs. Randall took the girl into a hug. "The most you can do is make these deaths worth something. Stay out of their hands. They will use you as a weapon."

Willow sank out of the embrace to her knees, weeping loudly and gulping air as the tears poured wetting her cheeks. The sounds of slaughter faded and she felt a breeze on her face. Still it took several moments to gain enough control of herself to raise her head.

Opening her eyes, Willow looked around. She was in a clean, freshly mowed graveyard. There was an open grave site nearby. She thought it must be one of the girls from the attack, but a second glance made her think otherwise.

Her mother, Nana Johnson and Kashi were there. Her mother and surrogate grandmother looked stricken. Kashi looked completely defeated, as if all of the ebullient spirit that infused his being had been crushed. She had never seen her brother look this way. They stood close to the grave side in the area usually reserved for family. Sayuri stood next to Kashi, hugging him fiercely with her head on his shoulder. Willow's mouth fell open when she noticed that Sayuri was visibly very pregnant. She was also wearing a platinum wedding ring. Kashi wore a matching band.

Behind Sayuri was a strange, beautiful, yet at the same time slightly masculine woman. Her stylish pant suit emphasized some of the figures more masculine traits while the swell of her chest, the plunging neckline and the makeup on her cheeks asserted that she was indeed a woman. She had luminous silver hair that was not dyed, and yet she did not appear to be one of the Dragon Blooded. She seemed to notice Willow looking at her, but it could have been a coincidence.

Behind Kashi was Sayuri's cousin, Reiko. Near her were other Dragon Blooded; a trio that Willow did not recognize. What caught her attention is that one was male. He looked very similar to Kashi. He was a young, Fire type and he matched her brother's muscular frame almost exactly. Next to him was an extremely well endowed girl, a Wood type, in a top that was almost scandalous for a funeral. Next to her was an older looking female that she suspected was Air aspected. Behind them was someone who wasn't a Dragon Blooded. He made Willow do a double take. He was _enormous._ He almost took up a row unto himself. He looked like an adult version of the gigantic Kashi spirit that had visited her if he had continued to grow and gain even more weight.

Kai Silbern and his wife Dr. Alani were there, along with several other women who must have been from M.S.I. They had little Summer Rain with them. Willow recognized the little girl from the Manifested reality show that Kai and Terra had participated in a few years ago. She was older as well, helping to confirm Willow's suspicion that this was the future.

Their lawyer was there too. The famous Edmond Campeggio. He was dressed in a suit and tie so elegant, yet triumphantly masculine, that Willow was momentarily distracted from wondering why he was here.

An older man, a Sikh in a blue turban, stood near Campeggio. He was quietly talking to another man in a suit who either had not shaved well or had bad five o'clock shadow. A nondescript, black-haired man stood behind them and kept an eye on the pair.

Bree was there as well. She was holding hands with a brown haired man with odd blue eyes. He was not dressed as nicely as the others. He had on jeans and a clean t-shirt with a sports jacket over it. He looked very much like a casually dressed person who had been forced to borrow such a jacket to enter a fine restaurant.

Some of Willow's schoolmates were there; Kimmy, Ken, and even Grace made an appearance. Willow noticed with a sinking feeling that Sabrina was not there, nor were any of her family.

Looking at the headstone, Willow saw what she expected: her own name with a death date of February 10, 2014.

"Is this my future then?" Willow asked aloud, wondering where the guide was this time.

"Not anymore," a kind, familiar voice said.

Willow looked up and saw the heavily pregnant Sayuri standing over her, smiling. She had stepped out of the crowd of mourners. None of the others gathered noticed, nor did they move from their positions.

Relief mixed with confusion shone on Willow's face. "Sayuri! Did you and Kashi get married?! Look at you! You're...so...so...big! You're going to have a baby!" Her mind latched onto this fact with gusto. In the deepest parts of her very analytical mind, she thought it might be a coping mechanism so she would not have to confront the idea of her own death. Or perhaps it was just that here was Sayuri, bursting with new life at a graveyard. That was a stark contrast.

"Yes, but this isn't a future that will happen. It's a future that was predicted to happen. One of many. Even powerful magic can't fortel what is to come with supreme accuracy. Never forget that. Regardless of prophecy and planning, the future is never certain. Every choice you make matters," Sayuri explained.

"Did Sabrina die?" Willow asked with a quiver. Her mind rocketed back from bringing forth new life to death like a metronome.

"I'm afraid so," Sayuri said sadly. The timeline has already diverged from the one you see here. However, you saw your friend die in real time as it happened. Remember, you didn't make those monsters do that. If you want to build a future that is safe for people like Sabrina you're going to have to be more than you are now."

"I'll try, Sayuri. I'm just not sure how."

"I'll help you. Kashi and your mom will too, as will everyone here," Sayuri said as she turned to wave her arm in indication of all the people present. "They all came to share in their grief and give each other the strength to carry on. They all came to care about you. The future is uncertain but you don't have to face it alone."

Willow nodded, but then grew thoughtful. However, before she could even open her mouth, Sayuri spoke again, as if she was reading her mind.

"In this reality you never discovered your powers. These people didn't befriend you because of _what_ you were but _who_ you were. They liked you. They wanted you to have a good life and were saddened by your death. They are not like the vampires. They don't want to use you. They want to protect you."

"Your death affected all of them intensely. Kashi in particular. When he got the call from your mother that you had died, he went outside and beat his fist into a tree until it shattered. Then he fell to the ground and punched the earth. The entire backyard lit up and he didn't stop until he fell over with exhaustion. I had never seen him that way. You know how strong he is with his powers and how much stamina he has. It was almost frightening. He was inconsolable."

Willow sniffed and nodded her head again.

Sayuri put her hands on her big belly and continued. "I'm carrying a girl. Kashi has insisted that we name her Willow."

Willow's mouth fell open, then she smiled sheepishly. "You know my name isn't actually Willow. Well, it is. It's my middle name. Yanagi is my real first name. Kashi couldn't say it when he was five and it just sort of stuck using my middle name."

Sayuri nodded. "But it's a beautiful name and it's how your brother remembers you. I told him I would be proud to have my daughter honor that memory."

"Can I feel?" Willow asked tentatively. She knew this Sayuri wasn't real and neither was the child growing inside her, but hearing that Kashi wanted to name his firstborn child after her had affected her deeply.

Sayuri gave Willow a tight hug and nodded. Willow put her small hand to Sayuri's huge stomach. She felt the child inside kick and kick hard. "Kashi says she's going to play soccer. I can't say I disagree with his assessment from how much she kicks me."

Willow smiled and hugged Sayuri again. Sayuri kissed the girl on the forehead as their hug ended. It was then that Sayuri turned to return to the crowd of mourners and rejoin her husband.

As she did the strange woman with silver hair behind her motioned for Sayuri to wait and let her through the crowd. She slipped past Sayuri, her hand brushing her shoulder in a very familiar, almost intimate way. Sayuri only smiled and slipped back into Kashi's embrace.

The woman smiled down at Willow. She was confident, poised, and powerful. She would have been intimidating if it wasn't for a twinkle of humor in her eyes. It was the look of a child who was going to tattle or a slam poet who was about to unleash a devastating roast with excellent rhyme.

"I've never trusted looking at the future. It's a silly thing trying to predict what's to come. Life isn't to be predicted. She's more mysterious than that."

"Then why do I have the feeling you're going to tell me something about the future?" Willow said.

"Is it because I look like a gossip ready to bust?" She said with a laugh. Her laugh was contagious. It was oddly androgynous, more belecous than most women could manage but more carefree than most men.

"Well, Jay Odele certainly didn't do much to disprove your point. He said I was a nobody," Willow said.

"The star eyes are almost as bad as their bosses sometimes. If the local godly idiots don't get their act together and start helping them, we might have actually have cause to be glad the old Black Lung Smoker is hiding out here," she said in a voice that was all at once amused, smug and worried.

"What do you mean?" Willow asked.

"Oh, never mind that. I'm going to tell you something that not even your pretty Sayuri spirit guide knows! What's really funny here is all these people are so sad and broken up and you're not even really dead! That's not really you in the box! It acted like you. It was connected to you. You and this copy, this carefully constructed clone, each dreamed of each other but it was a trick. She was created by a group of tricksters who had their plot stolen by someone even craftier. I wanted to show that person to you. That's him down there with the real you," the woman said as she pointed away toward the gates of the cemetery.

Willow's vision zoomed, almost like a telescope. Her sight rushed beyond the gates where Jin Kimura was passing a bottle back to some dark haired, aging punk in ratty jeans and a grey hoodie. Her sight flew on past them to the parking lot. In the lot was a beautiful Mercedes Benz. In the back window, Willow saw her own face looking back at her. She had tear stained cheeks and eyes red from crying.

Behind the other Willow was Claus Werner. However, unlike the other background players in the dream, he locked eyes with her and smiled. It was the sort of smug, arrogant smile of someone who had just made a master stroke move in a board or card game. It was the smile of a man who was indulging you by letting you finish the game. It was the smile of a man who had already won.

Her vision snapped back to her point of reference with a disconcerting speed. The light had faded to twilight. Everyone seemed to be gone, even the mysterious woman, but Willow heard bitter weeping. Turning, she looked and found on the other side of the grave - her grave- someone was on their knees with their hands over their face. The weeping was building in intensity to a wailing sob. The figure was female. She was wearing a simple white dress. Maybe it was a robe. It was hard to tell. Her hair was long and wild.

Willow approached slowly and reached a hand out to the girl's shoulder. She had no idea why she was compelled to do so. No one else had been able to see or touch her in these visions. "Did you know her? Are you alright?" Willow asked.

The girl spoke in between choking sobs. "Alright?

"You seem sad," Willow said carefully, her hand touching the girl's shoulder.

" **I AM DISTRAUGHT!"** The girl suddenly bellowed, rising from her knees.

Willow stumbled backwards away from the girl. A breeze blew the girl's hair away from her face and it rippled and moved like it was under water. The hair was red, the color of freshly spilt blood. Her eyes were glowing green and filled with madness. The face, however, was Willow's own.

"I've helped her and helped her and now she's **GONE**!" The other Willow cried out in a literal banshee wail that turned the breeze into a windstorm.

"But she's not! I'm her! I'm Willow!"

The phantasm lunged and knocked Willow to the ground. Its hand locked about her neck as its face descended toward her own. It stared into her eyes and panted through its mouth while inhaling through its nose.

"Trickery! Treachery! **BETRAYAL**! What is this? How is this...?" It screeched.

"Other people's trickery! Someone else's treachery! I'd never betray you would I?" Willow said, unsure of the truth of her words but eager to mollify her attacker.

The hold changed into a possessive hug as the phantasmal Willow sobed with relief.

"I thought I'd lost you! I thought you were gone! Don't leave me, please! Don't leave me again!" The phantasm begged.

"There, there, it's okay now. I'm here now, alright?" Willow said in a careful tone.

"You really shouldn't encourage her," a voice called out from behind her.

"Go **AWAY**! No one wants **YOU** here," the Phantasm spat angrily.

A third Willow was walking up behind the two. This image had her hair up in a bun. She was wearing kitten heels, dark hose, a dark pencil skirt and a matching blazer over a nice blouse. "Or what? You'll cry about it?" She said with a sneer.

"You look like you've been taking fashion tips from Therese Voerman," Willow noted, acknowledging the newcomer.

"Really? You're locked in a dream full of mystery visions and your first comments are on my outfit?" The image said in distaste.

"You can tell a lot about someone by how they dress and who they seek fashion advice from," Willow replied

"Seeing as how pretty, perfect, too good to be true Sayuri has had you dressing like you were raised with Catholic guilt and Mrs. Randall has been showing you how to imitate a pageant queen with your make-up, I'm not sure that's a good reflection on you," the smartly dressed Willow countered.

"Don't you dare hurt her feelings!" The weeping Phantasm snarled, helping the original Willow stand up.

"Oh, yes! We know how protective you are of her, gazing longingly through the mirror night after night trying to help. What did you ever really do for her? I at least helped her find her shoes when she was kidnapped," the well put together version of herself snapped.

You're my magic," Willow realized, speaking to the well dressed version of herself. "You're the part of me that wields the power to change the universe. You're its Avatar."

"She's a bitch," the Phantasm countered.

"You are an upjumped subsystem meant to keep the physical body working you swollen leech! If it wasn't for drawing off her and myself, you couldn't even think for yourself. To listen to her, Willow, is to listen to your most base inclinations." The Avatar Image replied.

"If you're my Avatar, then she's my lower soul or Po. The root of emotion and low instinct. A force closer to the underworld and thus swollen with power from it. She makes me, and by extension you, unique. She's our connection to the Land of the Dead. The bridge that lets our power flow to new realms," Willow said, working out the complicated relationship of her inner souls in a moment of clarity. It was like she was giving voice to buried truths she had always known.

"You're in danger, Willow! Our body sleeps, blood drinkers are nearby," her Po soul said in a panic. "I can't wake us up alone, she's changing us too much! She has to stop."

"Like you can do anything against them! Your power is laughable in the mortal world. You can conjure visions and influence emotions. Do you think that alone will keep us safe?" Her Avatar taunted.

"No, she can't, but neither can you," Willow said confidently. "If there is one thing this vision trip has taught me, it's that no one is ever truly prepared. We just have to do our best and hope it's enough. That means all of us...all of me. If I'm going to have to start working with other people, I'd better start by working to get along with myself," she concluded. She nodded to each of them then braced herself.

* * *

Tremere Chantry, Downtown Los Angeles

December 21, 2012

6:10 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Willow sat up. She was in a dark, Victorian style room. In a nearby chair the vampire Amy was reading a book.

"Oh! You're awake. I'll send word to the master," she said, giving Willow a smile.

Willow checked herself. She was nude under her bed covers. She felt clean. From the feeling she thought she'd been bathed in water, not just a sponge bath. She decided she didn't care for that. She had no doubt she had been in need of a bath, though. Some clothing was lying nearby. A sensible dress and some polished boots.

"I'll need to let my family know I'm alright. We wouldn't want my brother thinking you kidnapped me," Willow said

"The police woman, Bree, will be handling that. We were going to take you to see Kai Silbern but things have taken an odd skew. The master will be explaining it all to you soon."

"I know what I am. I have to prepare for the challenges my power will draw. Tell him I need to know all he can tell me of my grandfather. I have to prepare for what is to come."

The vampire looked at Willow with a slightly nervous tilt of her head. She nodded and rose out of her chair.

"As you wish, magus. Please dress. I will inform the master of your need for an audience."

As the vampire left Willow hoped that she could use the information from her vision to bluff until Kashi got here.


	13. Chapter 13

Big chapter this time. Sorry it took so long. I changed jobs within the same company but to a new location. I have had to do a lot of new training for my position and it has sapped my energy and creativity.

* * *

The Sweet Rest Inn

December 21, 2012

6:49 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Kashi roared down the road on his new Hayabusa. He and Sayuri were returning to the Sweet Rest Inn after spending most of the afternoon escorting the staff from Sayuri's house to relative safety. After that, they had looped back around the neighborhood and taken a longer, but less congested route to Ladera Heights to pick up the motorcycle Kashi had agreed to purchase from Mr. Albareda.

Reiko's dad had been in good shape. The young fire aspect had been back several times to check on him since all of this started and he had moved himself out of his house and into his shop. He had his shotgun at the ready and his pitbulls were patrolling the fence. It was a lucky thing in the not too distant past Kashi had made a point to befriend the canines. They had charged him immediately only to leap on him and playfully and happily lick his face.

Mr. Albareda was sympathetic to Kashi's plight and agreed to let him take the bike to use in the crisis. Together, they changed the tires and had given the vehicle a quick once over. He signed over the title, put a temp tag on the back and let Kashi leave with a handshake and promise to come back. When Kashi asked about what would happen if he got killed before returning, Mr. Albareda had laughed and said if that happened, he would just write the bike off as stolen in the chaos.

While Kashi had helped Mr. Albareda get the bike ready, Sayuri had taken to her phone. She was able to connect briefly with Reiko, who informed her that the undead had become inexplicably focused again. Although they lacked the precision of their initial forays, the more intelligent nephwracks had summoned new troops; terrifying beast-like undead that were as vicious as they were monstrous. They were flooding the streets trying to win their way past the Dragon Blooded through attrition.

The city had finally managed to scrape together a more organized defense with the Dragon Blooded and L.A.P.D. coordinating with the National Guard that had finally arrived on the scene. The increased numbers of undead clashed with the increased firepower of the U.S. military. A new stalemate had been reached. With that information, Kashi thought it best to get back to his mother as soon as possible.

The journey back to the Sweet Rest Inn found Kashi in the lead, on the lookout for danger with Sayuri following in her BMW. He was much more familiar with the roads and the neighborhood this close to home, and, as such, he was able to keep watch much easier.

Now the pair took the final turn closing in on the Sweet Rest Inn. As they approached, Kashi spied a U-Haul in the side parking lot. He gestured for Sayuri to pull on into the front lot and indicated he was going on to the side lot. He was pretty sure this had to be James back with the arsenal of weapons he'd inherited from his more martially inclined brother.

It was the largest size truck that the company rented. Having seen the storage building of weapons James harbored, Kashi speculated that if James had packed the truck well, he could provide an impressive array of weapons to any hunter or qualified civilians to defend the city.

Kashi shut off his bike and dismounted. He hung his helmet on the handlebar before rounding the truck. He saw James sitting on the rear bumper and to Kashi's surprise he was not alone. He was talking to a middle-aged guy in a cowboy hat and jeans. Beyond the stranger was an older model bike, similar in style to the one he had, until recently, owned.

"Sup James?"

"Kashi! Oh, man! Have we got news for you!" James began.

"Okay, hold up a sec'. First, just real quick, fill me in on what's going on. Are any hunters coming? Did you get Tex? How many weapons did you bring?"

"Almost everyone is coming! Tex is in New Orleans, though. As for outside L.A. the undead uprisings are sporadic, but are extremely concentrated in some places like here, Chicago, Mexico City and Paris."

"Then why is Tex in New Orleans?"

"New Orleans has its own problems. It's mostly under the radar, though. Different from the undead, but no less serious. Big things are attacking them too and she was closer," James said while fumbling for his keys.

"Oh, well, yeah, I understand then, I guess. She has to go where she's needed. Didn't she have a thing with one of the guys out there?" Kashi asked, trying to recall the details.

"Yeah, it's why I'm surprised she went. Has to be awkward. As for what's in the truck. Behold!" He said dramatically tossing the door open with a flourish.

The cowboy let out a low whistle. James had outdone himself. Stacks of weapons and ammunition boxes were neatly nested inside. It was a cornucopia of violent salvation.

"Nice! Hell yeah! Great work, man!" Kashi exclaimed.

"We got another truck on the way. I called in some old favors and the infamous Fat Larry will be bringing his rolling House of Mack. Not as high grade stuff as what I've got here, but we can arm anyone who wants to take a stand."

"I'm sure you're going to be careful with who you arm. Just remember the world has survived many an 'apocalypse' before. Let's not arm anyone today we'll regret giving a weapon to tomorrow," the cowboy cautioned.

Kashi glanced at the stranger and before he could open his mouth, James spoke up. "Oh, yeah! Kashi! This is Jesse. He got here just about ten minutes ago, but he seems cool. He's got the news on Willow."

"You got news on my sister?" Kashi asked carefully. Since walking in different circles the past few months while dating Sayuri, he had become what could only be described as "woefully unignorant" to his own gullibility. And while he trusted James, he also didn't have too much faith in his ability to spot a scam.

"Yeah, I do. Your sister has gained powers: magic. Our sort. The awakened art. Some asshole enemies of ours sent men to catch her. They do that with a lot of new mages. Only the attackers were killed by vampires. I managed to track them down. It's House Tremere. Now, James here says they were trying to buddy up to her back a few months ago. They likely realized what she was going to become. They lust to control all the magic they can. It's not looking good. We have to get her out fast," Jesse explained.

Kashi's face darkened. "DAMN IT! I knew those bastards couldn't be trusted! Those backstabbing rats were just waiting for a chance to screw us! This time we'll hit them hard and fast before they get ready. James did you ever get that armor you loaned me before repaired? You told me you'd sent it off back at Thanksgiving."

"Sorry man. It didn't come back yet."

Kashi cursed. "Oh well. Thanks for trying. We need to go as soon as possible to get Willow."

"So, what's the plan of attack, Kashi?" James asked.

"I want to move fast and I don't know how much backup is available. I guess you're going to have to stay and distribute weapons. Maybe mom can come with me. She seems to know about guns and stuff and Willow is her daughter."

"Hey! You have me. I'm trained as a battle mage. I have mastery of space magic. I can curve bullets around corners even teleport them to come at people from unexpected angles. No reason to bring a civvie like your mom into this," Jesse offered.

"Maybe she can stay and distribute guns then and you can come, James," Kashi said.

"Really? You think?" James asked eagerly.

Kashi nodded. "Yeah, I mean, you're one of the few guys I can trust. Plenty of other people have jerked me around but you've always been straight with me. I trust you."

James looked eager. "Cool, I got your back then!"

"Alright then I'm just going to go inside tell Sayuri what we're doing and get mom out here to take charge of the gun truck. We'll go paste these vampire creeps and get Willow back!"

With that, Kashi headed off to the front doors of the hotel at a jog. He dashed into the familiar halls of the hotel. He had just about made it to the front desk when he saw something that shot adrenaline through his system: a short redhead form that was very familiar. His heart leapt as he dashed toward the figure.

"WILLOW!"

The redhead turned with a shocked look on her face and Kashi got a look at her. The features were right but the facial expression, posture, and even the very way she carried herself were all wrong. Kashi stopped dead in his tracks. His face fell in confusion, and then his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You're _not_ Willow!"

* * *

Jesse was talking to James about the weapons on the truck and possible tactics they were likely to encounter in the coming fight against the Tremere, but his mind busy putting the finishing touches on his own plan. The kid's sunlight powers were attention grabbing. He would be the focus of the vampires' ire. It would give him the edge to slip in and get the girl and get out. He'd leave a large set of burn marks and ash piles to fool the boy into thinking they were killed and make an exit. He wished he could have had time to prepare the clone body in the basement and leave it dead in the chantry, moving it into place with his magic, but he had not been back to the safehouse since he saw the door caved in from the street. He figured out what had happened and had not stuck around. Besides, the Technos could still have been watching the place. This on the fly plan wasn't as good as the A plan, but he figured it wasn't bad for on the spot planning.

He was idly describing a particular Tremere battle tactic where some of the clan focused their powers on creating a magical shield while others stood protected behind their brethren and called down offensive magics when he noticed the hunter was not paying attention. He was looking confused at something behind Jesse.

Jesse turned slightly to see what he was looking at when well tanned knuckles filled his vision. A hard right impacted with his cheekbone. The incredible force of the blow and the awkward angle of his half turn sent him falling backwards. Kashi's left hand grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, stopping him from falling. He tossed the cowboy into the side of the freight truck.

"You son of a bitch!"

Jesse was unsure what has set the kid off but he was not pulling his punches. His face, contorted with rage, was alight from the mark on his brow and he was already glowing as pale contrails of gold light were coalescing around him. His already considerable musculature had swollen dramatically from the magic infusing his body. Behind the boy, others were racing out into the parking lot. He saw the red headed cop with her arm in a sling and another guy he did not know, a bulky bar bouncer looking sort, racing up with the boy's mother and another woman in athletic wear coming up behind.

Jesse called on his magic and vanished from where Kashi had thrown him against the side of the truck. He appeared behind the kid with both of his guns drawn in less than a heartbeat. To his confused astonishment, the kid, almost nonchalantly, threw his arm backwards. Before Jesse could make use of his new position, the kid's hand grabbed him by the throat. He was pulled up and forward in a way that was impossible for normal human strength and leverage. He was swung like a rag doll in an arc over the kid's head. Kashi twisted his body as he moved from reaching behind him to throwing Jesse in front of him. His solar anima flared into a bonfire as he did so

Jesse impacted the pavement back first. The force of the impact sent his firearms flying from his grasp and knocked the wind out of him. A second later the kid's foot stomped directly on his sternum. Already wheezing for air, he felt some of his ribs crack as he was driven harder into the pavement. Looking up through watering eyes, he saw the kid's hand wreathed in a golden light, prepared to strike down on him.

"Do it again! Use your goddamn magic you bastard! DO IT! See what happens. Go on you chicken shit mother fucker! DO IT! SEE WHAT HAPPENS!" Kashi roared.

Stepping up beside Kashi was...his sister? The girl shook her head.

"I thought maybe they killed you too. I told you this was all a shit plan," Brad said with a sad shake of his so recently acquired head.

Then it hit Jesse. The clone. "Brad? You spirit hopped?" he wheezed.

"Damn right I did and I was lucky the Technogoons left in a hurry or I'd still have bought the farm. I've come clean to the boy and his mom like we should have from the start. Old man Rayner has been playing us for fools. I'm betting he had us pegged from day one. Why send any of his own men? Waste of resources. He could count on us to keep the girl safe 'til he came to collect her. God we were idiots," Brad lamented.

Jesse took a huge gulp of air trying desperately to fill his lungs and remain calm. "Look, I don't know what he's told you but..."

Kashi moved his foot. He punched downward, the blow landing right beside the cowboy's head. Pavement shattered from the force of the blow, creating a shockwave that all but destroyed his hearing in his left ear. He struggled to remain conscious.

"You tell me another lie and it will be your last," Kashi warned.

"Kashi, are you sure you're not overreacting?" James asked warily. He had seen what the young man was capable of just two months previously and had no desire to have that ire turned on him for speaking carelessly.

"No dude. In fact, I think I'm pretty damn calm for what's going on right now because this is some grade A BULLSHIT right here. You're almost the only one who's been upfront with me from the start! Jesus lied or twisted the truth to try and make me hate the vampires and this cheap cowboy Bon Jovi looking mother fucker here has been watching my family for eight years! They knew when Willow vanished in June and they just watched. They god damn watched when the vampires attacked us on Halloween! They knew what was going to happen to Willow and they just watched and never warned us. Why? BECAUSE THEY WERE GOING TO STEAL HER!" He shouted as he snatched the cowboy up by the collar and lifted him into the air.

James paled. "Wait. They what?"

"Oh, yeah, that's why we had this body in storage. We were going to leave it behind to throw you off the trail. That's why I'm a walking time bomb. This clone is set to die in a year or two. I knew what we were doing was wrong. I argued against it. I still did it, however. I made excuses. I told myself Jesse was the boss and it was his place to call the shots. I tried to convince myself it would all work out for the best. The cold truth is I was too scared of losing my position to do what was right and it makes me sick to think about it. I needed a wake up call. Well, a chest full of bullets and a close brush with death is a hell of a wake up call," the mage in Willow's clone body explained.

Kashi half-turned to Brad. "The main thing that's scared me about the vampires is knowing they can control people's minds. I know I'm easy to trick and every damn body seems hell bent on trying to use me. It's gone beyond pissing me off. Now you've fessed up, but I'm still pretty mad about what you were a part of, but you came clean and I'm willing to let you off the hook, at least if you keep trying to set things right," Then the teen's face contorted as he turned back fully to the mage dangling in front of him. "Now I have to figure out what to do with YOU you slimy piece of worm shit."

"Come on, Kashi, don't kill him. You're not the killing sort, I mean, not like this man. Bree, Banyan come on help me here," James pleaded.

Bree shook her head. "I'm not stepping in this one. This is for Kashi and maybe Banyan to decide. I don't even feel right about giving them advice. My equilibrium is out of balance. I passed a righteous judgement on a terrible evil only to see it get away. My own mind is rolling with recriminations. I'm in no place to offer an unbiased view."

"You know, James, I couldn't kill those fae who were mind controlling half of L.A. I've had a good long think about that. If I let him live, I'm responsible for what he does next. If I could have ended him and he goes on to kidnap someone else's sister or tear apart someone else's family, part of that blood would be on my hands," Kashi said. He took a hand off the cowboy's collar and squeezed the mage's throat.

"If that's your reason you may be right. If you're doing it out of anger that's different. Anger clouds judgement and leads to regret. If you're going to kill him be sure it's for the right reasons and that you can live with it. Killing is not something you can take back," Banyan said.

An unfamiliar man moved into Kashi peripheral vision. "You don't really know me, man, but let me say this okay? If you kill him it's over. If you let him live he has to report his failures to his superiors and then he gets to have how badly he screwed up held over his head for a very long time," Dan explained.

Kashi eased back a bit, relaxing just a hair. He turned and looked beyond the others to the people bringing up the rear. Sayuri was standing with Edith Johnson. "Nana? What do you think?"

"The answer is in you already, child. If you were sure that this man needed to die you'd have killed him already. Don't doubt that wisdom. Like your mama said, killing is something that can't be undone. A soul forgiven when it ought not be is easy to correct. A soul struck down when it ought not have been can't be mended. He worked on the same wicked actions for most of Willow's life. That doesn't sound like the sort that will be causing trouble anytime too soon. Even if he doesn't learn from his failings those who are over him might. That alone will limit his chance to cause any mischief for good folks," Nana Johnson reasoned.

Kashi thought about those words he also looked at Sayuri. It made him think about why he was so angry. It was true he had been lied to. It was also true that his family had been targeted. But mostly he was furious because he was scared. He was frightened of what almost happened and could happen again. He didn't want to give into fear he wanted to do what was right. Kashi released Jesse. "Yeah, I think you're right, Nana..."

"Look maybe…," Jesse began before a brutal shove spun him around knocked him back into the truck. The U-Haul rocked with the impact and the mage's cracked ribs screamed in agony.

"I said I wasn't going to kill you not that you're forgiven. Get your ass out of here and don't you ever come back. Go back to your bosses and you tell them how you fucked everything up and how you are not allowed in sight of my sister you hear me? GO!" Kashi shouted.

Jesse looked at the scowling faces around him and gently slipped out of Kashi's relaxed pin as he backed up to his bike. He turned and mounted up. Giving his engine a quick crank he took off into the night.

Brad shook his head. "I hope he's not dumb enough to come back."

"He better not be," Kashi said, watching Jesse disappear.

James looked confused at Bree's circle and Brad. "Who are all of these people?"

Bree spoke up. "This is Brad. He's also a mage and until a few hours ago, he was also a man. He narrowly avoided death. This is Dan. He's a Dawn Caste. Natalia over there is a Night Caste. Guys this is James. He's a hunter, the one I told you I was taking to the range to teach to shoot."

"I'm Kashi and I'm normally not this pissed off, but people keep trying to do shit to my family and that ain't gonna fly," Kashi said, introducing himself.

Bree looked at Kashi. "Look, I know you don't want to hear this but I need you to calm down. As I was trying to tell you inside, yes, the Tremere have Willow but they are going to give her right back. They sent some of their own to save her from her grandfather who is a very, very bad man. In fact, if it were not for this chaos, they would have already taken her to Kai Silbern. That way she'd be in the hands of someone Kashi would trust more, but with MSI's assault force here in the city that doesn't leave much to protect her there. So they are waiting on us to come talk to them and make another plan."

"Not to happy about all this being behind my back, I'll have you know," Kashi snapped at the ex-cop.

"I'm not too happy about doing it that way either as I've explained to your mother," Bree replied cautiously.

"I'm pretty far from thrilled myself. However, your grandfather is dangerous enough that they have a point, so let's all be unhappy together and just live with it for the time being. We need a plan and we need it quick. Who is going with Kashi to get Willow?" Bayan asked.

"I'll go. I made the initial arrangements. I should be there to fix things if they go bad," Bree reasoned.

"With a broken arm? I don't think so. I'm taking James. You know guns. Stay here and see this pile of weapons is distributed to the hunters and people that won't shoot anyone who isn't already dead," Kashi countered.

"Yeah, Bree, if you or Banyan can take charge of the armory I'll go with Kashi," James offered.

Banyan looked at the truck and raised her eyebrows. "Now _that_ is an armory. I'll stay and help Bree with the weapons. I'm supposed to be looking out for the hotel. We have to have a place to bring Willow back to. Besides, I have training but no supernatural powers to protect my mind from vampire tricks. Best not risk my coming in close to them."

"I had better stay back for similar reasons. I can help the people here," Sayuri said.

Brad shrugged. "I'm pretty tired. This body has no stamina, so I wouldn't be much use to you. If you feel you need me, however, I'll go."

Dan shook his head. "Nah, you stay back. We need your mind. You are the most knowledgeable one here about magic and can do Willow the most good once she's safe. I'll go with my fellow Dawn Caste here."

Kashi did a double take at Dan. He seemed surprised. "Are you really the same sort of Solar as me?"

To answer, Dan flared his Caste Mark. Kashi broke out into a wide grin. "Righteous!"

"HAH, literally I'd say! The Lord has blessed you all," Nana Johnson suggested.

Natalia shook her head, lighting her own Caste Mark. "You maybe old and wise, but I doubt that. I, for one, am no Christian."

"Neither were many of the folks Christ stopped to aid. You believe as you wish, but I don't doubt if you do good with those powers that the Lord smiles on you."

"Right, well, I'm bruised and battered, but I can still fight if I have to and I can run if I can't fight. My powers have made me really fast. If things turn for the worst I can grab the girl and get her away from harm," Natalia said.

Kashi looked about. "Okay, that'd be four so we'd have just enough room for Willow in James' Honda in the back middle seat. She's small, but unless we want to go sitting on each others' lap or making a convoy that would be the limit."

Bree nodded. "Yeah, a convoy would draw too much attention. Kashi, Dan, James Natalia. Good luck."

Kashi went to his mother and hugged her. "I'll bring Willow home," he said before moving to Sayuri, to whom he gave a quick kiss before heading out with the others.

As the group walked away, Sayuri looked at Bree. "Do you think you'd have let him go? That mage I mean."

"No, but I'd have ended up asking myself over and over if I had killed one man because another who should have been executed got away," Bree admitted.

"I've been thinking about what happened at Thanksgiving a lot too. There was a moment when I was tempted to pick up a stray gun I saw at the scene and use it to end the lives of those creatures who had so callously endangered so many. I have deeply regretted not picking up that gun. Because of that, I want to ask you a favor."

"Name it."

"Can you teach me how to shoot? I want to be ready if I have to take a stand again."

Bree nodded to Sayuri before asking her a question. "And what about you? What would you have done in the situation we just saw, Sayuri?"

"Me?" Sayuri asked in a shocked voice. Then Bree saw the pretty young girl's face fall flat. All emotions seemed to drain out of her face. Bree had seen that look before when confronting someone that had fallen into a dissociative state. But one of the gifts she had been given was the ability to look through a person, and that was not what she saw. With a chilling coolness, Sayuri looked Bree in the eyes. "If someone had tried to fool me like that and kidnap a member of my family, I'd have shot them." For a heartbeat, Bree was concerned she had misread her. Then the emotion came back to her face and Sayuri turned and headed inside. It was only then that Bree realized what she was looking at. The young girl's final statement wasn't emotionless and it wasn't violence from logic or anger. Instead, Bree saw it came from the mouth of someone carrying the sad weight of conviction. The conviction of someone doing what they thought was necessary to protect what they loved. And suddenly Bree was very concerned for Sayuri who slowly walked away.

* * *

Los Angeles

8:20 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Jesus' mind raced as he drove. He wasn't sure he approved of what was going on. James had spread Kashi's call to arms and sweetened the pot by offering weapons from his dead brother's armory. Jesus had always considered it a very bad joke that the least martial hunter in all of southern California had inherited what was likely the largest private stockpile of weapons in L.A.

While Jesus approved of hunter unity, and of James sharing the weapons he'd been so stingy with in the past, he did not care for the idea of an alliance with the Manifested; those elementally aspected beings who were now starting to call themselves the Dragon Blooded.

He had nothing against them _per se_ , but Jesus feared that the hunters would end up subservient to the more powerful and famous supernaturals. There was also the risk of exposure to the public.

The Dragon Blooded faced down the world and made it accept them and their powers. The hunters, on the other hand, hesitated. Many did not want public exposure. There were too many times the Hunt called for action no government would endorse or understand.

The essence of being a hunter was to be answerable only to one's own calling and code. It was the moral compass provided by the mysterious patrons of the Hunt. It was, at times, the only thing that could be trusted not to be twisted by the supernatural powers of the enemy.

Jesus reflected on how everything but his code seemed to have been turned upside down in the last few months. James, once a shy bookworm, had garnered enormous respect from his fellow hunters in how he had managed to work with Kashi and tackle problems like the Sabbat invasion at Halloween and the faerie riot at Thanksgiving head on. While Jesus, on the other hand, despite a strong start, lost almost all pull with the Solar boy. His heavy handed stance had also cost him face with his fellow hunters.

Despite his distraction, he didn't miss seeing a pack of zombies attacking a half dozen people. He noticed this group of victims was trying to fight back. Seeing the altercation, he spun his truck around in the street in a partial bootlegger's turn which sent several zombies flying. He jumped out and, using the door of his truck as a shield, fired several shots from his pump shotgun into the undead that remained standing.

Jesus took three steps toward the beleaguered defenders before he noticed something was off about them. His lip curled into a sneer. They were vampires. Some sported claws or bared fangs. They were all filled with the barely contained fury of the inner beast.

"Hey! Thanks man! Crazy day, huh? We woke up tonight to find the city in a panic and zombies everywhere. Nines is calling on everyone who can fight to get their asses out in the street and help the Kine. Won't be much of a city left if we don't defend it you know," the vampire closest to Jesus said.

Jesus nodded. "Yeah. Got to defend the city. Start tearing these corpses up. I have to get something out of the truck before more show up."

The vampires started tearing the corpses apart while Jesus quickly donned a backpack from in his truck. With his handy Zippo he ignited the pilot light of his weapon and rounded the tail of the truck. A stream of liquid flame surged out of his homemade flamethrower. The vampires had moved. A female was now nearest to him.

"Gotta defend the city from ALL you assholes!" Jesus shouted.

"WHAT! No man! You're crazy!" The male who had spoken before screamed, backing away from Jesus as the others charged him, their animal rage overcoming their fear.

"You're _loco_ if you think you using people for cattle makes you any better than those zombies.. At least everyone can see they're dead you sneaky thief bastards!" Jesus said spraying the flame over his attackers. The pain of the fire made their reactions confused. Jesus had much experience at dodging the death throes of Vampires being consumed by flames. He put that experience to good use in evading them. As he knew the fire should be hot enough to finish off those he'd already doused, he dashed a bit forward and sprayed the legs of the one who was running.

"You fucker!" The vampire screamed as the fire brushed his legs. He went down, his muscles spasming in pain as his body reflexively curled into a protective ball to hide his head and face from the painful fire.

Jesus snarled and walked forward, increasing the intensity of the flames as the runner fell down making sure the vampire's full body was doused.

"When you get to hell tell them..." However, before he could finish a high pitched 'ping' noise from behind sent him into a panic.

It was a sound he'd always dreaded. He'd trained himself to listen and respond. Without even looking he slapped the quick release on his straps and did a diving roll away while his arm tossed the backpack. An explosion of pressure, heat and flame struck him. He knew he was hurt badly. It was going to be hard to get back to his truck and get to medical help.

"You know I would like to say that this was nothing personal. That you made _yourself_ the most hated hunter in the city and this was all just business," a dispassionate voice said from behind him.

Jesus rolled over trying to see. It was blurry but he thought he recognized the man, one of Baron Abrams' ghouls. Jesus tried to push himself to his feet. If he could just make it to the truck.

He didn't even make it halfway before a kick sent him down onto his hands and knees. Two more sent him to his belly.

"Truth is, however, the way you looked down on Mercurio and me like we were pieces of shit when we were trying to help prep everyone to take on San Diego last Halloween pissed me off pretty good," the former ghoul, Grave hunter, said matter of factly.

"Go to hell you piece of shit sellout!" Jesus raged, trying to pull some of his power inward to fuel an edge.

"Nope. Not now. Hell is for guys like you. It might have been waiting for me once but now I got something even worse waiting. While you just have those you sent there preparing your welcome," Grave Hunter said, pulling a severed zombie arm from the ground.

Jesus looked into the pitiless eyes of the Abyssal. His insides twisted as he saw the symbol on his forehead. It was the exact same mark that appeared on Kashi's brow when he used his power, save instead of emanating golden light, the brand was an ugly bruise limned in blood. That somehow filled him with a dread worse than his own imminent death. Grave Hunter swung his makeshift club down onto the hunter with all the force that his supernatural nature could muster. Three strokes later and the job was done.

Grave Hunter tossed the pistol he had used to shoot the tank near one of the vampires corpses. He'd considered just shooting Jesus, but he wanted to savor the arrogant prick's death. He then regarded the vampires. They had all been too young to make a proper ash pile. As he turned to leave a hand moved. It clawed the air as if trying to reach him.

"I'm not dead. Help...me..." The horrendously charred form of what Grave Hunter assumed was a woman pleaded with him.

"Fuck! You're alive!" Grave Hunter exclaimed, rushing to the charred figure.

"Please! Romero! Blood...I need..." The figure begged piteously.

Grave Hunter started. The use of his old name crawled up his spine. What was worse, she recognized him. "Hold still. Just hold still. This will make it better," the former ghoul said. He reached down and took the back of the charred figure's neck as if to steady her. He held her head back as she opened her mouth. She was ready to bite into his wrist when, with a flash, he grabbed under her bottom jaw and pulled hard, breaking the head free from the charred neck, killing her instantly.

"I hate killing women but I can't be seen. They have to think it was the zombies. You had shitty luck lady," Grave Hunter said, rising.

He strode away into the darkness. There were still plenty of targets on his list and he could not afford to spare time, who knew how long the chaos would last?

* * *

Downtown Los Angeles

Approaching the Tremere Chantry

8:41 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

"So do we have a deal? I'll teach you how to run up walls and balance so well you can run full speed on tight ropes if you'll teach me how to punch so hard concrete breaks and people fly ten meters with every blow?" Natalia asked.

"Can't. Sorry," Kashi replied.

"What else do I have to do to get you to show me?! I think I'm being more than fair here."

"I'm American so I'm not sure how far that is," Kashi answered with an embarrassed smile.

"It's about thirty three feet," Dan explained.

"Oh," Kashi said. "Yeah I can do that!"

Natalia's face broke into a broad smile. It was then that Kashi realized it. She was hitting on him. Once, not so very long ago, the tables would have been reversed and he would have been the one hitting on the pretty, athletic girl mercilessly. With the sort of blatant signals she had been sending him, 'Old Kashi' would have probably already been making out with her in the back of the car, if not already actively having sex with her with little to no regard for the others in the vehicle. He hadn't even realized how beautiful Natalia was until he got into such a confined space with her. It had not registered with him at all. He wondered if there was something wrong with him?

Dan shook his head at the exchange. "Come on guys. We're basically there. Keep your eye out for anything we can use if we have to do something drastic. Emergency plan. If you think about what can go wrong before hand, you can react quickly after."

"Quick heads up. Anything you see is likely fake. The Tremere are the worst combination of mage and vampire. They'll have guys scrying on you the whole time. You might find halls with no clear lines of sight so you think you're hidden but they can see just fine or there might be a clear looking hall with invisible walls made of steel set up as a trap. Guards will probably also be invisible, and you are best off to not believe any clear exit you see if things go sideways. Remember some can project telekinetic force to meld simple objects into golems. Ever see the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast? Imagine that but not as cute or fun. They are clever and flexible in what their magic can do and endlessly patient in how they plan," James warned.

"If our enemy's resources remain unknown, we have to focus on our own powers. Now, I can plan for us. I can summon a sword of light and I have focused on powers to defend myself," Dan offered.

"I've learned some stealth. I'm not as good as the other guy I met who was also a Night Caste, but he can't run, jump and balance like I can," Natalia said.

"You've seen what I do. I can beat stuff up and I take a beating pretty good and all. Oh, and I can get, like, really strong. That's about it. I mean, it's worked pretty good so far, but...well...it doesn't sound like much," Kashi said, shrugging in a surprising moment of reflection and humility.

"Don't sell yourself short! I think being able to deal out that kind of an ass kicking is amazing. I want to do that. Well, maybe not the big swole muscles part. They look good on you, but I don't know if that is exactly my style. I do know that I want to beat on people like you do more than I want to catch up to the sneaky bullshit that other guy does. He wouldn't even tell me his name. He just said to call him Jon," Natalia said, shaking her head.

James cleared his throat. "Okay, well, I guess it's my turn. I can resist most mind influencing powers. I can see through illusions and, at times, I can pick out what's going on with magical powers or spells. My powers are in information gathering and deduction. I've been trying to learn to use a gun. Bree says I'm okay with it. Kashi's mom didn't seem so impressed, but I'm not sure anything short of John Rambo would impress her there," James admitted.

"Well his mom is basically James Bond so don't feel too bad," Dan pointed out.

"Are we all going in? Should I sneak in? What are we doing? Dan you're the planner," Natalia said, trying to steer the conversation back into relevant ground.

"This is the heart of their power. They are showing trust or confidence inviting us in. From what Kashi and Bree have said about them, they fear us, so I'm going with trust. This is likely a calculated move, but still it is trust and at this time we are not enemies. Stealth is out. It would be a major breach of that implied trust. One that could start something," Dan said thinking

"I've always tried to live by the credo 'don't start nothing, won't be nothing'," Kashi interjected. He then noticed that Dan was looking at him curiously. The golden haired Dawn Caste smiled at the older man somewhat nervously. "You know, that goes both ways though, cause if they start something, won't be a thing for long cause I'll end it quick," Kashi added quickly. "You know, returning as quickly as can be to a 'won't be nothing state.' That is my preferred state," he rambled.

Dan instantly understood. "Dude. You totally don't have to be nervous around me. I'm smart, but I'm not a dick and don't look down on what you do. I think it's fabulous you lost so much weight as a kid. I'm just starting that journey now and that shit takes hard work and character. I got too much going on with trying to set my life on the right path to be judging anyone else. You do you and you do it damn well, so keep it going. You're right about all this, however, it's better if nothing starts so lets not provoke them. Natalia you stay visible but keep your eyes peeled for trouble. If something starts you can slip away."

Natalia nodded. "Got it."

James parked the car. The area was deserted. The spires of downtown loomed above them. The group of Solars exited the car and crossed the street, heading toward an ornate stone building. Kashi took the lead. The instant his foot touched the first step, the doors of the building swung open. The vampire that greeted them was one Kashi recognized from Halloween. She had been talking to Willow. He thought her name was Amy.

"Welcome Mr. Kimura. The Master of the Chantry awaits in his study. Might I inquire about these others? I only recognize Mr. Donaldson," she said, with a nod to James. It took Kashi a beat to realize to whom she was referring. He'd never known James' last name or thought to ask. That fact slightly embarrassed him, but he pushed that out of his mind for the moment.

"Our names are Dan and Natalia. We also bear the power of the sun like our brother Kashi," Dan said.

"I see. Very well. Please follow me," Amy replied, unsuccessfully trying to cover her shock.

The female vampire lead them through a series of hallways. The corridors seemed to turn abruptly and the halls crossed each other with seemingly no logic with respect to the building's boundaries. However, the vampire never slowed her pace even with the building's absurd geometry. She knew just where she was going despite taking four right hand turns in a row that lead, somehow, to the left.

"Neat fun house but I'm not really amused. I mean are you just showing off or what?" Kashi asked.

"I'll bet the distorted dimensions makes scrying harder," James ventured.

"Yes, just so," Amy quickly replied.

"It better be. I'm not in the mood for showing off or acting cute," Kashi snapped.

Amy stopped before an elaborate green double door and moved to the side. "The Master of the Chantry awaits," she said with a slight bow as she stepped away.

With narrowed eyes Kashi opened the door and walked forward into the next room. It was a study with a fireplace in the middle of the back wall. The walls were lined with bookcases. There were two half circles of three chairs, each with a small table beside it, arranged facing the center of the room. The chairs were made of smooth black leather fashioned in a stuffed diamond-tufted pattern with gleaming bright gold buttons and a wing back. The tables were a highly polished dark wood, the same wood as the bookcases. They were the perfect height to lay a book or cup while one looked at something else.

The arrangement of the chairs was an obvious invitation to sit. Directly opposite the six seats, in front of the fireplace, was another chair in the same style as the others except with a much taller back. it had two of the tables one by each hand. Kashi thought it looked like a throne.

In that ornate chair sat Maximillian Strauss. His red leather coat vividly contrasted with the black leather of the furniture. He had many books and folders stacked neatly upon his twin tables. They were so neat as to appear unread. Which was exactly the opposite of Willow who sat nearly opposite of Maximillian in the chair just to the left of the entry space. She was using the one table she had. Her stack of books were book marked or laid open atop each other in a haphazard pile. She looked intent on whatever she was reading.

Kashi rushed over to his little sister. 'Willow! Are you okay?"

The little girl nodded silently before gesturing to Strauss with her eyes. Kashi turned to face the Tremere leader. He stepped forward. "Nice chair. Compensating for something?"

"It's taller so he doesn't have to look at the fire but his subordinates do while they talk to him. A little bit of vampire mind games for making people feel small while they report to you. Not likely aimed as us as no one here is afraid of fire," James explained.

"It's just his favorite chair. It feels comfortable and familiar. Something to make him feel more in control and up to the task of talking to beings who radiate sunlight," Dan whispered to the others.

"Oh yeah, well, I guess that's nothing to get pissy about. I'd want to feel comfortable too if I were him," Natalia said,

Kashi sat beside Willow while Dan sat across from her. Willow did not seem to respond to her older brother. That slightly annoyed Kashi, but he let it pass. James sat beside Dan while Natalia sat between Strauss and James leaving the chair between Kashi and Strauss empty.

"I hope Miss Madigan explained to you the nature of our intervention and that it was aimed only at helping," Maximillian opened.

"Yeah she explained that you were pretty keen to suck up," Kashi said with a sneer.

Strauss frowned. "It is a bit more than that Mr. Kimura. The events that you and your sister are apart of could be quite dangerous to countless individuals. My own masters wish to offer the services and support of Clan Tremere to aid you in this time of difficulty and uncertainty."

"Oh do they? Yeah, then why aren't they here? If we're so important, why didn't they come themselves to offer their help?" Kashi snapped.

"They are here. Lord Etrius is here within the city. He has recently stepped out to look into the source of the endless waves of undead that plague us. He hopes he can close the source of their constant reinforcements. Even before that, however, he felt you would be more comfortable speaking with me. I am a known factor. He is also aware, as are you, that your power is enough to intimidate me. Ergo, you would not feel as nervous in my presence. His original plan was to make himself available should you wish to speak with him directly and if necessary to stop your grandfather from absconding with your sister. The urgency of the current crisis and the length of your sister's convalescence convinced him it would be worth stepping out. He did say if you wish to talk to him directly he will gladly speak with you as soon as he has returned from looking at the source of the cities undead infestation," Maximillian explained

James choked. "The fuck…? You mean Etrius. THE Etrius? The right hand of your Clan founder? _That_ Etrius?"

"Yes. The very same," Strauss said dispassionately.

"In this city!?" James asked in a higher pitch.

"Technically. He's likely in Hollywood but, yes, generally so."

"Right NOW!" James squeaked.

Strauss nodded again. "Well, I haven't seen him in several hours but I doubt he would have gone far without letting us know he was venturing further afield."

"I take it Etrius is a name to run away from?" Dan asked.

"Oh, yeah. He's almost a thousand years old. He's the equivalent of a Tier Nine spiritual entity to use the mage's new classification scale. It's generally accepted that he could wipe out major cities and would have to be stopped by something like a cruise missile. A vampire just one tier up survived a nuclear strike that was disguised as a reactor overload in India," James explained, clearly aghast.

"Given the power of Kashi and Willow's grandfather, our founder thought it best. Archmagi, even those limited by the Technocratic point of view, are not to be underestimated. Only an overwhelming response was deemed sufficient to deter him from attack. The wards that currently protect us from his gaze are of Lord Etrius' work," Maximillian said.

Kashi looked utterly lost. "Huh? The what? The who?"

"Let me start at the beginning and explain it all as best as I can. Your friends are making me jump around too much in my explanation.

Kashi nodded silently.

"Just as there are vampires, the world is host to many other supernatural beings, some of which you have heard of; fairies, shapeshifters, ghosts, hunters, mummies and of course mages. Many of the supernatural community know very little of those outside their own. Your friend, Mr. Donaldson is exceptionally well versed to even be aware of Lord Etrius. He, and others hunters like him, have slowly pieced together much out of sheer diligence. However, their picture is incomplete. It is as if they have the pieces of several jigsaw puzzles and not all the pieces."

"But you had a leg up. You started off as mages who sought immortality. You became undead by accident in that quest," Dan added.

Strauss canted his head slightly in acknowledgement. "Correct. In its basic form. Yes, this existence is not what Lord Tremere sought, but the process is irreversible. As such, he made the best of it and clawed his way to power greater than nearly any mage in history. At the time of his transformation, magic was weakening. Most blame the group called the Order of Reason. We have some cause to doubt that they were fully to blame, however, they certainly did take advantage of magic's weakening as their methods of sorcery were not as hampered by the changing world. They cloaked their magic in the natural sciences that any mortal being can use. Their power waxed while others waned. Subsequently, all the waning mages joined into a resistance against the Order of Reason called the Council of Nine Traditions."

"I thought there were ten member groups?" Willow asked suddenly, looking up from her study.

James spoke up again. "The honorary tenth group is a catch all for all mages who are allied to the Council but not technically members of the Nine Orders." He seemed rattled and nervous.

"Oh. Gotcha," Willow said, immediately returning to her reading.

Strauss took over again. "Yes, well, the Order of Reason evolved over the centuries into its current incarnation: the Technocratic Union. Generally they try to destroy anything magical in the world to pave the way for a system of pure explainable science where every mystery is answered. It is a world without place for vampires, shapeshifters, hunters or any other such being. It is almost assuredly a world without a place for you, Mr. Kimura. It is the Technocratic Union, or Technocracy that was behind the imprisoning and experimentation on the Manifested or Dragon Blooded as they've started calling themselves. However, for a member of their Order, your grandfather is quite...unusual."

"Wha? Like unusual how?" Kashi asked.

"He was born a noble who had his lineage stolen from him. He's been obsessed with lineage ever since. He wishes to leave an heir behind; someone who can continue his legacy. His story. He has doted upon his mortal children for this reason. You must understand that the power of awakened magic does not pass through blood. Despite this, he used spellcraft to increase the potency of his progeny and tweak the genetics of his descendants. His magic forces certain traits to dominance regardless of natural heredity. Your blond hair and blue eyes, for instance. He has done so with only the thinnest of scientific veils over his wizardry."

"Which is why Banyan is so - well amazing!" James interjected just a little too loudly.

Kashi inhaled sharply and rolled his eyes. The last thing he needed reminding of was that James has a crush on his mother.

"Partly. None of his other children were so impressive. She was random chance. Her ferocity of spirit and the strength of her soul, all things 'science' dismisses, were simply enhanced by his magic, not caused by it. And while your mother lacked supernatural powers, your grandfather saw her fire and taught her a broad variety of skills. He was subtly preparing her to learn the rare few supernatural powers that are attainable by normal humans; the lesser magics, those magics the magi call hedge wizardry and the Technocracy calls...well I am not sure what they call it but I am sure It has some pedantic 'scientific' designation. It is quite likely that he was going to attempt to push her to the edge of what is possible for humans to master with that as well, but she fled from him before he could. I assume that he realized that to force her back would crush the very spirit that made her so suitable in his eyes to carry on his legacy."

"She said he was an evil man," Kashi said, lost in thought.

"I would say so, but, then, I am also what most would call evil. I will not argue on those merits, but I will argue that until you had gained the power of Exaltation, _you_ would have also been of interest to your grandfather."

"Hmm? Why? I wasn't magic or nothin' then."

"Your father, Jin Kimura, comes from a line of werewolves that practice a method of selective breeding that, while mystical, is very similar to eugenics. Your father is a remarkable physical specimen. Due to the spells your grandfather wrapped around his bloodline, in most cases the very best traits of your parents dominated, aside for a few cosmetic attributes thrown in to assuage his vanity, again, your aforementioned blonde hair and blue eyes. However, you are also not as scholastically inclined as your mother was which would have been a strike against you in his book, but he was watching you carefully. He did not interfere in your life, perhaps out of some lingering respect for your mother. Perhaps he hoped your own children would be your physical equal but more scholarly. We can only speculate on his motive really."

"Do these spells still affect me? If I ever have kids..." Kashi trailed off. His mind leapt straight to Sayuri. She was smart, pretty and had been decently athletic in high school as well, playing volleyball. If they had smart, strong kids would his grandfather try to take them? Then that thought in and of itself hit Kashi square in the head. Sayuri having his babies. He swallowed hard. All of this was coming at him so fast.

"No. The power of your Exaltation was like a bomb exploding. It stripped his spells from you," Strauss said soothingly.

"But, against all odds, Willow gained the powers of a magi," Dan said, redirecting the conversation back on track.

"Yes, and not only that, she was fathered by an ancient ghost. We are not sure who, exactly, but as I have explained to Willow prior to your arrival, it was a being of such power as to rip a hole in the barrier between this world and underworld that lingered for over a decade. A ghost who was trying to ensure the power of his ectoplasmic Ichor mixed with mortal blood to produce a child of two worlds; the child who sits right before us. A girl born dead who has the powers of a living ghost and a mage. A girl who holds the legendary tenth sphere of magic and who has revealed the hidden truth that the world is not perfect, but flawed. That means the world can never be refined into some perfect utopia but must be ever balanced and calibrated to mitigate the flaw in its structure. Not so dire a message as some would make it out to be," Strauss said.

Willow looked up almost shyly for the briefest of moments. She cast her eyes over at Kashi who was looking at Strauss stone faced. He missed his little sister's glance entirely. She quickly looked back down at the book she was reading.

"And we are the heroes to keep it safe and balanced," Dan said to himself, pondering the situation.

"You certainly could be. I don't think that is specifically what you were created to do, but you do seem to have the power to do so should you choose. If you do, it will be an eternal struggle. The world will never _not_ need heroes. Flaws will continue to creep in and spread and you, as well as anyone allied with you, will have to constantly be vigilant to stop them. In a perfect world this would be a rallying cry for every interested party who wished to see our world thrive. However, the Technocracy seeks to destroy my kind, and they are not alone in that desire. As such, the Technocracy must be numbered among our enemies, even if their intentions align with ours," Strauss admitted.

Kashi looked incredibly skeptical. "So what do you get out of all of this? Are you saying Willow is some weapon against the underworld and you want to use her?"

"No, Mr. Kimura. It means your sister has the power to be a hero much like yourself. She can, if she so chooses, stand against the darkness using the considerable and rare powers she has been given. If she is captured by the enemy she can be turned into a weapon against all who exist in this world and any other. If she were to decide to seek out and join her grandfather, it would almost assuredly be safer for her in the short term. It would also put her at odds with everyone in this room as your grandfather and the Technocracy he supports would surely seek to destroy us all. If she chooses to forge her own way, she has to fear the obsession of one of the most powerful mages to walk the Earth in this age. One who has literal armies at his beck and call."

Kashi thought he understood where the conversation was leading. "I don't think you would let her become your enemy. So what are you threatening to do?" He asked darkly.

"Nothing until you decide what you will do, Mr. Kimura. Regardless of which side Willow chooses we are on your side."

"Wait...what?" Kashi spluttered. That was not the answer he was expecting at all.

"Mr. Kimura we _exist_ in this world. If this world dies, we die with it. We do not wish to die. We have too much we wish to accomplish. This goes hand in hand with a healthy fear of our own end. Tremere himself has pushed our clan to ally ourselves with you. He has mandated that any clan member opposing you will be cast out and hunted! We are even ordered, if need be, to take your side against any other vampire clan. Even if this breaks the alliances we have spent centuries forging. It is a message that our founder claims... and as remarkable as it may sound I must believe... comes from Caine himself."

"But...I don't like you," Kashi said almost instantly.

"Kashi! America didn't like the Soviet Union but they worked together against the Nazis," James said.

"Yeah but I don't _know_ that the Technocracy are the bad guys. I mean we're only hearing one side to this story," Kashi said in a slightly agitated tone.

"I'm willing to take it on faith, Kashi. What I mean is this feels right to me," Dan said.

Kashi turned his head and gave Dan an incredulous look. "It doesn't feel right to me. I thought you were smart?! I mean these guys feel scuzzy and slimy. Sure, maybe mom's right, but one thing I've learned from all the crap I've been through in the past six months is you can't just trust people. Hell, Jesus sounded right to me. If I'd just trusted him, I'd be in all kinds of trouble," Kashi said exasperated.

"Kashi, wait. Just think about this for a minute," Willow said, breaking her quiet streak.

"No! I _have_ been thinking about it. I've been fooled too many times to just jump when someone says so! Most of what I've heard has been bullshit. What you're saying is that it's worthless to even talk to my grandfather or try to make peace? Well screw that! I'm going to find a way to talk to him and if he's legit as bad as you say I'll get back to you, but if you're trying to pull the wool over my eyes so help me I will come down on you like...like...something out of Nana's bible stories," Kashi said, turning from Willow to Strauss.

"Kashi will you just listen to me!" Willow exclaimed standing up.

Kashi glared at his little sister. "First I come in here and you don't even SPEAK to me and now you're giving me this crap? You want to make your own choices? You think you're an adult?! FINE! Do what you want, Willow! You always do anyway, but I'm not going to chase around after you this time. I'm finished following in your wake, cleaning up your misadventures. You want to run off with vampires? Go on! I'm sure Dan will stay here with you and lap up whatever he's selling too," Kashi said, standing up as he headed for the door. The rage and confusion was palpable on his tan face.

"STOP IT YOU IDIOT!" Willow screamed at him.

"I'M NOT AN IDIOT!" Kashi roared back.

"YES you ARE! I've been sitting here quietly and letting you talk because I have no idea what to DO Kashi! I've been waiting here scared hoping you'd get here quickly so you could help me. For once in your life act like the brother you always claim to be and protect me. I'm so scared right now I can't even think. My mind just keeps running in circles like these stupid hallways. It's like a maze with no way out and I'm lost and... now you're going to leave me!" She said her defiant shriek giving way to choking sobs.

"Willow..." Kashi said, shocked and aghast. All of the anger died out of him instantly.

"Please. I need you," Willow said, holding out her arms.

Without missing a beat Kashi scooped her up.

"She's too upset to handle this right now. Your magical hall bullshit better let us out. I'm taking her home to mom where we'll think about this and get back to you. Thank you for keeping Willow safe, but we will be leaving now," Kashi said.

"What? But, Mr. Kimura if you leave the protection of the Chantry he can find you!" Strauss said as he stood up, astonished.

"I don't care. If he comes, I'll talk to him. If he doesn't want to talk, I'll beat his ass," Kashi said with defiance in his voice.

He stared at Strauss for a brief moment; no more than three heartbeats. He held Willow in one arm and slowly balled his other hand into a fist as a faint glow of sunlight swirled around it. Strauss waved towards the door and as Kashi exited the room, he collapsed back into his chair. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger.

James got up and headed for the door "I'd better go with him will you guys be okay without a car? I can send Bree over here once were back at the hotel."

Dan nodded. " Yeah, sure man. Head on out. Keep an eye on them. We'll contact Kai and plan something to help from here. If this guy is as bad as they say Kashi will come around. I just wish he would see reason, but Bree warned me he was stubborn."

"I fear Mr. Kimura's grandfather is a persuasive man. He is of the bloodline of kings and emperors. His spirit is strong and his charisma draws others to him," Strauss said in a defeated tone.

"We are the Princes of the Earth who rule with the Mandate of Heaven. He'll be fine," Dan assured Strauss. However, as he turned to his circle mate, Natalia, that assuredness melted away. Worry showed on his face. They would have to prepare for the worst. They would have to be ready for if Kashi _didn't_ see reason.


	14. Chapter 14

Los Angeles

The Front Lines

December 21, 2012

9:19 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Edmond Campeggio was a man who valued his appearance. He knew it was often the key to one's very first impression; which was essential in any sort of social situation. As such, he did his best to groom himself despite the emergency. He had borrowed an electric shaver and had a quick wipe down with moist towelettes. There was nothing he could do at the moment about his hair except a quick wash in a sink and a less than satisfactory drying with paper towels. This was followed by a simple comb pulled through his hair without the aid of his normal products. He had changed from his suit, that was now hopelessly smoke damaged and singed in several places, to a clean EMT jumpsuit. He found himself lying on a cot in a tent trying to sleep. He had been up for roughly forty hours now, yet he still couldn't rest. Perhaps it was the sick feeling he had from running on too much caffeine and snack foods.

He looked at his circlemates with slight envy. Marshall was already asleep. He hadn't even bothered with a cot. He had just sat on a blanket with his shoulders resting against the side of some crates to keep his torso partly propped up in a sitting position. He had his hat tilted down to shade his eyes. He'd fallen asleep almost instantly. He claimed that as a field researcher he'd slept in literal war zones and been fine.

Agam was sitting across from Marshall in a meditative pose. The Sikh looked almost peaceful. Throughout the day he had been an eye of calm in the storm of chaos. He was perhaps the least ruffled out of the three of them. He had taken breaks to catch a quick nap or meditate throughout the day to relax himself when a spare moment presented itself.

Attempting to create a working truce between the city's first responders and the emerging elementals had been a great deal of work. Once the initial group of fire spirits had been mollified, they had offered to aid the city in its struggles against the undead. After that the hours had become a blur of rushing from one emergency to another. Spirits were coming out of the woodwork. Some of these beings were helpful while others had been a nuisance. As he had been the one that had successfully negotiated for humanity initially, Campeggio found his group called upon to deal with anything that was too weird for mundane first responders to deal with.

He had managed thus far to avoid spending enough essence to make his anima flash. He was not sure how long that would last. He wanted to maintain his secret, however, he was not willing to let people die to do so.

His last task had involved quashing an argument between two disparate groups of spirits who were supposedly working together to defend the city. A group of tree spirits in the shape of little stick men armed as knights had been sent by Kai to reinforce a squad of police officers and firemen that, unknown to the Austrian, had already been sent support from the fire elementals. The innate hostility between the mutually antagonistic groups of spirits had almost been too much to prevent them from coming to blows.

Once that was resolved peacefully the fire chief had asked Campeggio to get some sleep. According to the chief he looked like he was about to crash.

Campeggio was sure he looked it, hence his quick grooming session. While he knew he was physically tired and could feel his body scream for sleep, his mind refused to slow down as it jumped erratically through every thought and experience of the day. He dared not take a sedative fearing he would be needed again soon.

So much had happened and so much was at stake, but he couldn't seem to get it organized so his mind kept spinning in circles refusing to stop until the job was through. To combat this, he started to visualise the thoughts coming to him as physical work; papers on a case being brought to him helter skelter by panicked legal clerks. He calmly filed each away promising himself he would look at them later once they were organised. Slowly his mind began to declutter and the whirlwind of his subconscious, with no debris to toss about, lost energy and blew itself out. The darkness of sleep claimed him.

"Mr. Campeggio?"

Campeggio slowly regained consciousness. His brain felt mired in a tarry morass of exhaustion. His entire frame rebelled at the very idea of stirring. His body felt as if it was covered with deep bruises and aches that penetrated to the bone. He had thought he was in shape but so many hours of physical activity among the first responders had proved him wrong. His shape was so far removed from these men, he might as well have been a circle amongst rectangles. It was as if he didn't even remember how to move and was having to force every muscle. He felt as if he'd slept a year and gone into atrophy. Yet, at the same time, he felt like it wasn't enough; like he'd barely replenished an ounce of energy. He blinked his eyes, trying to focus on the man in front of him.

"Wha-?"

It was a young volunteer; a reservist firefighter. He was one of the people who knew enough emergency procedure not to get in the way, that made him useful support personnel for running supplies, messages and reports.

"How long was I out?" the lawyer asked as he slowly found his way to a sitting position on the cot.

"Maybe two hours, sir. A being- not human- is here. He's asking for you by name, sir. He said if you could not be roused quickly he'd come for you himself. He says his matter is an emergency beyond what we are facing here. You know, sir, I saw those others oddball spirit things. Most of them looked like muppets really, but they didn't creep me the hell out the way he does. He's powerful. I don't know how, but everyone can feel it. Powerful and creepy as all hell. It makes your arm hair stand up. I mean literally. It feels like a current in the air or something."

Marshall rose, pushing his hat back to its normal rest. "Right, we'll take it from here, kid. Go tell 'Mr. Creepy' we're on our way."

The messenger seemed reluctant to return to the spirit's presence but did as he was told. Campeggio pressed his palms into his eyes and then ran his fingers through his hair.

"Damn. Don't you feel like, shit?" Campeggio asked Marshall. "I know I do. And here I thought I was in pretty good shape."

"You're not out of shape, but you're used to a softer life. Happened to me after I started a teaching gig at Barnett College," Marshal explained. He then inhaled deeply and stretched his arms. "I ran some and did a few workouts with weights in the gym but when I headed back into the field after a year of teaching and lecture, I felt like I was going to die," Marshall explained.

"Does it get better?"

Marshall nodded. "Yeah, I mean, most things do if you don't die first. Come on, Ed, keep it together now."

"Where's Singh?" Campeggio inquired looking around as he rose to his feet.

"Getting us something to eat," the Sikh said as he came through the tent flap. "It is simple food but hot and nourishing. We have pushed our bodies too far on energy bars and sugary drinks. This is a simple beef broth but it is warm and energizing. To go with it I have a wholesome bread. It was baked this morning by a nice lady who has been bringing what she makes to feed those fighting for the city," Agam explained.

After drinking a large pull of the broth from the thermos and chewing on a bite of bread Campeggio seemed much more awake. "Are you sure you didn't use magic on this?" he quipped.

"The only magic about it is the care of those who made it. You are a man who drives himself hard, Edmond Campeggio. You must learn self care. If you give everything to your causes there will be nothing left of you to fight later. A young man must learn these lessons or else he burns out. Life is not a sprint, but a marathon," Agam admonished him.

"Well I can't argue with him on that. You make it past thirty and you know that truth. Come on guys. We better make for the front before this spirt comes for us and scares someone into doing something stupid," Marshall suggested.

The three circle mates exited the tent and made their way through the crowd. It was not hard to find the right way. They merely followed the trail of unnerved first responders to a small building. Upon entering, they found themselves staring at the enormous back of Kai Silbern.

"Why can you not share with me the purpose of your visit?" Kai was asking the figure before him. He was dressed in his tactical battle armor with his massive hammer held in his right hand. He had it in a relaxed grip, with its head pointing toward the earth.

Edmond rounded the enormous Austrian to see the massive black spirit. It was like someone had cut a hole into a deep starless night sky. A sky like the one that currently ruled the night. The spirit was in the shape of a four armed man. Lithe but by no means weak. It leaned on the haft of a spear. It had a horn and laurel at its belt and shield across its back.

"I mean you no disrespect. I have a checkered history with you kind, Dragon Blooded. Your ancestors long ago washed away the stains that besmirched the Blood of the Dragons with glorious sacrifice in defense of the world. However, there is naught you can do to aid me and little I can do at this time to aid you. Perhaps next year I might have time to spare. Perhaps a visitation to the Princes of the Earth will become a new tradition and continue to displace my custom of old," the spirit said.

"What stains?" Kai asked, his face falling into a displeased glower.

"They are long rendered irrelevant by the passage of time." The spirit turned to Campeggio. "Here is the one I would speak to. So long as Mr. Campeggio is willing others might listen. Fear not being overheard by the mortals. I have rendered this place private. Our words will not be overheard. I am sure you have many questions, but I ask you to keep them simple. Time is of the essence and we must get started. I am Five Days Darkness. I am the lord of this inauspicious time, this Calibration."

"Calibration? Inauspicious?" Agam asked.

"Yes, the machinery of the universe is in need of maintenance and has been idled to facilitate these repairs. As such, the fabric of reality wavers slightly, causing the veil between the living and the dead to part and ushering in all manner of inauspicious events. It is supposed to be an annual event, however, the interim period in which the world has languished for thousands of years has seen no Calibration. So few of its systems were even functioning that calibrating the mechanisms would be quite pointless. One does not stop rebuilding a car engine to rotate the tires to use an analogy you might comprehend."

"Can you not do this another time? This is very inconvenient," Kai asked, still thinking somewhat stubbornly of his now ruined Christmas plans.

"No. Calibration is a fixed event. It cannot be moved. It is a process that, by its very nature, causes inconvenience."

"So, you are the god of this event but have no control over it?" Kai asked again, dubious of the claim.

"The _self proclaimed_ god. As Calibration is a process that need not have a caretaker watching over it, I am nearly unique; a god with no true purpose. I came into being by accident. I was born of the very implications of the Unconquered Sun's existence. He is the light of perfection. I am the shadow cast by that perfection in an imperfect world."

"Are you then the perfect imperfection or the imperfect perfection?" Campeggio asked.

"Both. Now, please, many of your questions will be answered in time, and I will speak to you more of who I am and who your patron, the Unconquered Sun, is after I deal with the reason for why I have come to you.

The mortals nodded and stood quiet as Five Days Darkness began to explain. "In the time before your recorded history, before your world even became what it is now, the Exalted sacrificed themselves to protect Creation. It took eons for it to heal to this state. By custom it is permissible for mortal beings to enter heaven and associate with the gods during Calibration. As such, I have waited all that time for both Calibration and the Exalted to return."

"While usually only those Exalts of a sufficient spiritual enlightenment are permitted into heaven outside of Calibration, those of the Eclipse Caste are able to enter heaven and directly petition the gods in their role as mediators when they so choose no matter their power. They and those in their company are likewise given a certain amount of protection. To once again use terms you are familiar with, it is similar to your diplomatic immunity."

"We are going to heaven?" Agam asked, almost stunned by the idea.

"Yes, should Edmond Campeggio wish you to accompany him. There is business to attend to there. The god known as Parad will impart a great deal of knowledge to you and grant aid to your defense of the world. You may take some time to prepare but I am unable to exist in the light of day even in this cursed time. I will summon the gateway to heaven but I must do so before the first light of day."

"Then there's not much time. What will we need?" Campeggio asked, thrilled at the prospect of finally being clued into the Exalted's true purpose.

"You will need to look impressive. I have magic that could refresh you all, but it would take too long. Return to your tower of glass and steel. You will find small spirits there in the shape of winged sprites. Offer them this crystal in exchange for providing you a night's worth of rest in an hour. Clean yourselves and dress to look presentable. I will meet you there and open the way to heaven. While I trust Parad to impart knowledge to you, there are things I know that should be known to others beyond you three. I will tell you now so that the word will pass to others through Kai Silbern."

Kai snorted. He did not feel that robbing Los Angeles of three mighty defenders was a good idea. "Obviously I will not be going. I have a city to defend. If this can happen at no other time then I suppose it must happen. But I find your timing to be frustrating."

"You have a soldier's courage and a soldier's conviction, Kai Silbern, but this is beyond you," Five Days Darkness said dispassionately.

Kai narrowed his eyes but said nothing. He then turned to Campeggio. "Before you ascend to Heaven, you should know that I was contacted by Dan with troublesome news. He, Bree, and Natalia are here in the city and wish to join us in its defense. They have found the reason for the assault on the city and wanted your help in dealing with the core of the issue."

"Bree hates me and Dan isn't too keen on me either. Why would they want my help?"

"I am told the heart of the matter revolves around the sister of your circle's Dawn Caste. He is apparently being less than helpful. The words Dan used were, and I quote; ' _we need Campeggio to come talk to this guy and get him to stop acting like a little bitch_.'' Apparently he is young and quite petulant," Kai said.

"Jesus Christ can nothing be easy?" Campeggio swore.

"You might want to watch the blasphemy, Ed, we are going to heaven ya know," Marshall admonished him with a smile.

"Is it blasphemy? Is Jesus Christ holy?" Agam asked.

Five Days Darkness intervened. "A very complicated question, Zenith. One I have not the time to answer. As for your Dawn Caste, I have already considered his case. He is best left out of this affair. He would be a distraction if he were to go with you. His mind would be elsewhere. It is just as well. His sister would not be allowed entry into heaven and she has need of his protection at this time. He has great martial puissance, but little else to offer. His gifts would not give you any advantage with this mission. There are members of the Guardians of Creation who are here in the city that can aid the Dragon Blooded. They too are more martial than yourselves and, as such, would also contribute little to your mission in heaven. You three are the optimal group to send of those Exalts that are currently available."

"So we are to leave him be? If he is as formidable as you say, I could use one of such power against the undead," Kai said.

"I did not say you need to leave him be," the shadowy spirit said as he faced down the Austrian. "But know that already he is arming warriors and sending them to aid you. You are a Prince of the Earth, Kai Silbern, and while once I only grudgingly acknowledged the Dragon Blooded to hold such a title, you are one of those designated to rule the world by the Supreme God. Take what action you see fit. Calibration throws fate off its axis but he is in the middle of a tangled web of schemes and plots. His current equilibrium cannot last. The repercussions of what might happen next will be far reaching and I cannot say if intervention at this point will be for good or ill. I council to use your best judgement."

Kai was used to giving orders, not taking them. This unknown figure had appeared a few minutes ago and had been what could best be described as cold and dismissive of him. This last statement had been just as cold as the rest, but it had also been a deferral to the Austrian's judgement. It had taken until now for Kai to understand. This being was not being deliberately glib with him. Instead, this god's focus and attention were just elsewhere, trusting him and his to take care of what he perceived as a peripheral matter even if it was of vital importance to the most in the area at the time. Finally understanding the dynamic he was dealing with, Kai's demeanor softened. "I will take no rash action but will keep this in mind. Perhaps I should confer with Dan again," Kai said.

"Good. Now, if immediate needs are met, I need to begin my long delayed story. It is a much shortened; a concise version of the tale which leaves out much for the sake of brevity yet imparts the basics."

The four armed figure paused to ensure he had the attention of the gathered Exalted before continuing. "Unlike most modern mythos, the Most High did not make the world of Creation in which you live. The Primordial beings, those who were born into chaos but which tired of its impermanence, forged Creation when they realized the truth of the Wyld's existence. They realized that without consequence there is no meaning and consequence is born of permanence."

"Creation was made to be permanent. To do so time had to be unidirectional. What was done could not be undone. If events could be undone they had no consequence and thus never were and thus not permanent. In forging Creation this way, the Primordials created many things by implication. You will find this a repeating occurrence with their works. To that end, the Primordials might be seen as both geniuses and fools. Geniuses for being able to contemplate such sweeping changes to existence and fools for not being able to fathom what those changes would truly mean. However, one must temper this view with understanding. The Primordials, from both a human and godly point of view, are alien to the point of being almost incomprehensible. They are just as alien to us gods as we gods are to you humans."

"But, I digress," The figure said with a slight shake of his spear still butted against the ground. "Creation gave the universe definitive, objective time. Time gave definitive scale and measurement. The subjectivity of chaos was imposed upon. This drove those beings at home in such formless madness, the raksha, into a fury. By Creation's very existence they could feel it imposing objectivity upon their whole subjective world. They were not free anymore."

"Could they not simply ignore it and continue on as they wished?" Agam asked.

"They certainly claim that was impossible, for as long as Creation existed at some point their work had the potential to be compared with it and rendered completely meaningless by the iron certainly of its existence."

"The early days of Creation were spent largely in its defense. The force of fate, one of the fundamental underpinnings of this new Primordial wrought reality, sought to write all things of Creation harmoniously into its design. However, those things not of Creation were corrosive to fate. This required the Primordials to personally toss these beings back out of Creation and repair whatever damage they inflicted," the god explained.

"This was not the goal of the Primordials. They wished for more leisure time. Creation was intended to be their sanctuary, not a place of toil. However, the King of the Primordial Beings had another far more reaching idea. It was he who noticed that the definitive measurements invoked by Creation's existence gave rise to a potential so powerful that, had it not been dependent on Creation to come into existence in the first place, it might have spawned a Primordial already. If things have length then somewhere, at some time, will exist the longest object ever, the longest lasting object ever, the sharpest blade ever, the best defender ever. As such, to defend the Primordial's sanctuary he decided to create-"

"-the most perfect being ever," Campeggio interrupted, seeing where the implication was headed.

"Just so," the four armed god said with a nod. "And as such He ordered his fellows to help him form such a being, and they did so with no regard for the paradox it created. The god they forged, the Unconquered Sun, was simultaneously all extremes regardless of contradiction. This paradox was something the concept of fate had trouble reconciling and, as such, nearly prevented its catalyst. The very moment of the Unconquered Sun's genesis could have crashed Creation and undone the Primordial's masterwork, winking it out of existence. However, by creating a perfect being, they created a perfect answer to this problem: choice."

"The Unconquered Sun chose not to always embody perfection. He would choose what perfections he would embody and when. If, paradoxically, it was not the best choice to be perfect, he would be less than such. He gave this willingness to be self sacrificing, to give of oneself and to aid and protect others a name. Thus, the concept of what was 'Holy' was inscribed into the universe."

"By implication then all the choices he forsook exist too; a shadow to his light. That is your genesis, then." Marshall deduced. "The proverbial road not taken."

"Yes. I must exist so that he may be what he is, however, unlike most gods, I do not seek to expand my own godly influence, but this doesn't mean I wish to be idle. So, as I was born with no purview and preside over a time that truly needs no divine tending, I find other tasks to busy myself. Such tasks are often dirty work."

"However, this is not the end of my story. By the implications of his choice, another concept arose: adaptability. The Primordials managed to create another Incarna out of that concept: Luna the Ever Changing Moon. In turn, the existence of these two mighty and nearly equal divinities turned the shadows of Fate into quite real beings; giving birth to the Five Maidens of Fate out of the tapestry of destiny."

"And so, the Unconquered Sun, Luna and the Five Maidens set about maintaining and guarding Creation while the Primordials retired. In time, however, the Unconquered Sun realized the source of a deep dissatisfaction within Creation. The world was suffering and he could not mend its ills. It was then that he realized why; to the Primordials, Creation, and the lives within it were not objects to be cared for, they were toys. Easily replaced if broken."

"This cruelty was the foundation of the rebellion. For the good of the world, those who created it had to be overthrown, yet this was not so easy. It was indelibly written into Creation that no god might assault a Primordial. It was then that the Unconquered Sun turned to those tiny lives the Primordials, in their careless cruelty, had so often snuffed out. Humans, seen as powerless, were not geased in the same fashion as the gods. The Primordials had leashed the Lion out of respect for its power, but the mice ran free. Thus, the Lion taught the mice to form an army. The Unconquered Sun shared his power with a select number of humans. These became the generals and champions who would lead humanity: the Solar Exalted."

"The Unconquered Sun, in his role as chief instigator of rebellion, also planned for the world's future following the fall of the Primordials. To prevent a similar and rebellion against the gods, he gave the Exalted his mandate to rule. Those who were once human would rule the world of humanity. The alien perspective of gods would keep up the workings of Creation and when necessary, the diplomats of the Solar Exalted, the Eclipse Caste, were tasked with ensuring acceptable compromises between the needs of the gods and the needs of man."

"This is what is needed now? A compromise between men and gods? I have to negotiate with heaven for the future of humanity?" Campeggio asked, his mind reeling with the consequences of such a momentous task.

"More or less. Parad will aid you further. I do not go to heaven. Its light is adverse to my darkness. Go prepare. I will meet with you again shortly. There are other tasks I have to be about, for I have tarried too long already." With that, the Shadow of the Sun vanished from sight.

"Go to heaven! Even if one tallied together all of the holy men of every religion, that is a rarity to be so chosen," Agam exclaimed.

"And that's assuming everything he told us is true. It might be an even rarer honor than that. Sounds like we're about to have a lot of work slopped on our plate. You up for it, Ed?" Marshall asked.

"I don't know. The bastard winked out before I could pin down what exactly it is I'm supposed to do!" the young lawyer fumed. "I'm supposed to negotiate with beings that, by their own admission, are alien to us. What exactly does a god want? What is it they can do for us? Will I be snuffed out of existence if I anger them? Hell, are they even angered by a lowball or high offer? Do they like to haggle or be flattered?"

I don't think we have much of a choice, my friend, "Agam interceded. "It sounds as if the world is quite literally dependent on it."

"The shadow man seems to have given you a contact within the realm of the gods, Campeggio. Contacts, as he alluded to, are used for knowledge and aid. I do not think you will need to negotiate with the one he named as Parad. Instead," the hulking earth blooded surmised, "he will be the one to point the way in which to go. If this shadowy form is to be believed you should go ready yourselves. I will not hold you here. The stakes are too high. Secure our future while I protect the world we have," Kai said, hefting his hammer over his shoulder.

"I swear I'll return as soon as possible and with whatever aid I can get us," Campeggio said.

Kai nodded gravely and turned to find his fellow Dragon Blooded. The three Solar Exalts also exited and prepared for an almost unfathomable challenge.

* * *

Baldwin County

South Alabama

December 22, 2012

6:28 AM Central Standard Time

* * *

Mike looked over at Axe. The laconic werewolf gave him a nod and walked away while Mike in turn made his way over to the fridge. He turned his head back toward the kitchen table where Cheryl and Talia sat. Each had a leg chained to the nearest table leg. The chains were more of a reminder than an actual threat. The bandages on their arms and legs were another reminder of what their captor would do if they sought to escape.

"You want something to eat? You can play at being unmoving rocks but I've worked with the real thing so you don't fool me," Mike asked as he opened the fridge.

"No, thank you," Talia said.

"I'll take some of those unopened chips and a beer," Cheryl replied. She wasn't about to trust anything that came from the toxic waste dump her captors called a fridge.

"Yeah, sure, the beer's Axe's piss water and the chips are a weird flavor I got on sale. I wasn't sure grilled cheese flavored chips would be good but two for a dollar is hard to pass up when you're on a budget," he explained, while pulling a soda out for himself.

He added a bottle of beer, grabbed the chips off the top of the fridge and then opened the cabinets and pulled a different bag out of the cabinet. It was then that Cheryl saw something within that made her speak up.

"Can you get the Poptarts? Talia will eat them."

Mike grabbed them while raising an eyebrow as he walked over.

"They're made with vegetable oil so the unfrosted ones are _halal_ ," Talia explained.

Mike snorted. "You've been stapled to the floor today and you still think Allah has your back?"

"Don't. Just leave her alone. She believes what she believes," Cheryl snapped.

Mike set the food down. He also produced an orange soda. "Here, drink this. It's not _haram_ either."

"Oh, thank you," Talia said, puzzled at the unexpected gesture.

Mike smiled while opening his own bag of snacks now that he was closer she could see they were pork rinds. "You're welcome," he replied with an evil grin.

Talia gave her captor a withering stare. Cheryl however spoke up. "I like those too."

"Wouldn't they make you _haram_? Doesn't she still eat you?" Mike asked

"First of all those things that are completely transformed or absorbed by other things even if _haram_ may not degrade a _halal_ substance if it is overwhelmed and it's offensive properties can no longer be clearly measured. Second, our sex life is none of your damn business," Talia shot back.

Mike smirked. "Cheryl, you can have some pork rinds if Talia eats some. If not, you're stuck with the cheap chips. I've been saving these for a special occasion."

"Why the fuck do you care what she eats? Also, you have hundreds of millions in the bank that feed out to you and the wolf at something like four million a year! Why are you worried about the expense of some damn snack food?!" Cheryl spat..

"I find it amusing that anyone lets imaginary characters in works of fiction tell them how to act. The Celestial Chorus can look for universal truth all they want. They can claim there is some divine wisdom in every religion but in the end even if there IS some divine truth, which I highly doubt mind you, it's so diluted by the bullshit as to make up less than one percent of every religion on Earth. So I'm not buying what they're selling. They can all take a flying leap up a wild hog's ass as the locals say," Mike said before stuffing a few crispy fried pig skins in his mouth and chewing.

"There's at least one thing you believe in, because, despite your cynicism, you won't insult those you work with when money is on the line. You poke at me because I'm in your power rather than you being in mine. You do believe in a universal truth. You believe the strong prey on the weak. You believe the weak are justified to cheat to get back at those who have power over them," Talia said.

"Close. I don't believe there is such a thing as cheating. The rules don't matter most of the time anyhow. They're put in place by those with power to keep those without power from getting any," Mike replied while sipping on his soda.

"You're avoiding the question. You're about to ransom us back to Pentex for a few million dollars. Why does a man who, in addition to that, gets four million a year give a damn about some three dollar pork rinds?" Cheryl asked again.

Mike crunched on his snack for a few seconds, lost in thought. "I used to think family was important. I had my family wiped out by Pentex. They wanted our land you see. The D'Angelos had a long history of fighting monsters to protect the sleepers out there. You know the morons who make up the base clay of this shit heap world we live in. They had a chantry they had built on an unholy site to ward and keep evil at bay. Pentex wanted access to that shit, so they had them whacked. They didn't know months before this I had ascended. My magic and meeting Axe got me out alive but I have a problem. How much do you know about mages? Probably diddly shit I'd wager?"

Cheryl and Talia did not respond.

"I thought so. You see, I have what's called 'arcane' pretty bad. What that means is, in addition to some other fun side effects, I tend to vanish from records. Paper, computer, it doesn't matter. It's a property of magic or some shit, but it's not the same for everyone. So, all the money is in Axe's fake ID and a numbered account that you just have to have the passcode to get into. It also means when everyone else died no records of a 'Mike D'Angelo' existed so the property and inheritance passed to my little brother, Gabe, who'd run off to Europe to become a musician. He wanted to be a violinist.

With my lack of official existence, Gabe became the guy they had to pressure into selling. He was a half trained hedge mage. They didn't even figure they'd have to kill guy in charge of this operation was a Tzimisce vampire with ties to the Sabbat. Pentex seems to have friends everywhere. Or at least they did. So, I ran around the world stopping Pentex plots or being a merc for the cash. I needed the dough so I could try to stay ahead of their games and protect the little shithead; you know, draw the heat away from him. Did a damn good job too. I have a talent for being a pain in the ass if you hadn't noticed."

"I would never have guessed," Cheryl said in a deadpan tone.

"Yeah, well, after a few years of this Mr. Big Shot Tzimisce decided he'd had enough of chasing us and called his sire in the old country to help. He switched up his tactics. Instead of an assault, threats or bribes, he sent a honey pot after Gabe. No idea what she looked like before, but she'd been flesh sculpted into a real work of art. Not those grotesque mockeries the fleshwarpers normally do either."

"So, they scuplted a sex doll?" Talia asked in disdain.

"Oh, no, not even close. The devil came in the form of an angel of light. Spun sugar made to look as pure as snow. Sweet, innocent; an angel sent to Earth to spread compassion and kindness. She knew her part and perfected it over God knows how long. All anyone saw was the lush ruby skin of the apple. There wasn't a single hint of the poison at its core."

Both Dragon Blooded has been drawn into the story they listed as Mike adjusted his chair then continued his narrative.

"She lead him right into the trap. She claimed some BS about being recently turned and that she had to kill her sire and grandsire to be free of the curse and return to humanity. He ate it up with a spoon and set out on her 'quest' like a white knight from an idiotic kid's cartoon. Soon he was in the belly of the beast. A nearly thousand year old fortress in the Carpathian mountains. She even made him think he had failed her and got them caught.

"Even after all the shit we'd pulled and lived there was no doubt in my mind that this was beyond Axe and me. We scraped together everything we had and hired the most lethal merc I could find: ol' pre-manifestation Kai Silbern. This was before he let that Indonesian fertility goddess rot his brain. Even as a mortal, he was a legend. An unstoppable killing machine who lived for the thrill of a challenge.

"He was the ace in the hole. They were waiting on Axe and me, so we walked on into an obvious trap in the middle of the day. We fought like lions, but we knew the elder was old school and couldn't resist having his goons hold us for a bit 'til he could wake up and mock us soundly before he killed us. Which he did of course. While he was monologuing, Kai, who hadn't even been on his radar he was so fucking good, shot his ass with an anti tank missile. Couldn't have been more spot on. Only thing I didn't count on in my plan was his goons beating my legs to jelly with a bat first.

"One of the vampires who had been standing over me had the good grace to have had an arm ripped off by some of the shrapnel however. He was bleeding all over and it pooled up near me. I knew you could use vitae to heal. I had also heard it was addictive. Not being too fond of the idea of dying I crawled over and laped that sticky red shit up. I'd take addiction over death. I discovered another thing about it that pretty much only applies to a mage. Vampire blood is raw power. Liquid Tass. Pure magical energy on tap. Even as my legs were healing, I blasted my recovering blood donor's head off and took the rest of his supply.

"I was high as a kite and beyond giving a damn. Nothing was fogged, however. I remember every moment of the battle. The elation at every kill. Every surge of adrenaline. The surprise on the faces that had lived centuries only to be melted in my flames.

"I can still see the horror on Gabe's face when he saw his sweet angel go up like cotton candy in a bonfire. She had raced to him. She was going to use him as a shield against me. I tossed her away like a ragdoll and called up the very fires of hell to melt her fake face. Gabe still didn't see the poison at her core. He thinks I murdered his soul mate."

"That's horrible! That poor man," Talia gasped.

"Well don't feel too sorry for him. He turned the pain into artistic inspiration and writes heartbreaking violin pieces that have made him all the rage among the classical crowd. He's got his fortune and fame," Mike said with a shake of his head.

"And you sank into addiction and debt?" Cheryl guessed.

"Like a fucking rock. Straight down. I learned after a bit you didn't have to drink vitae to use it's power, but it still could heal you. Great for emergencies and no one could see it inside you. Another nice surprise. On and on came the excuses. Soon, I was so deep in debt even Axe and me together couldn't keep ahead of the headsman for long. I had to start crawling upwards if we were going to live. I knew someone who could help, but she'd want a favor. Better that than money I thought at the time. I went to Nikki Sparks of Sparks Labs and she used her magic to exercise my addiction.

"I did some work for her and the so called 'Seven.' Got kicked out a few times though. I'd made a big score and they robbed it from me then, saying I just kept wasting the money they'd paid me in the past. They put my big score in a bank to be doled out to me like an allowance. Like I was five. Even a quarter of that load would see me free and clear. As it is, the dribble they give is enough to keep the creditors at bay so I can stay in one place. My sanctum sanctorum ladies. Behold the wonders," Mike said as he gestured around the old shack.

"Why didn't you tell them why your money kept vanishing? Why didn't you tell them about your debts?" Talia asked.

"You think I wanted to hear a lecture from those sanctimonious assholes? No way. Killed a few supernatural creditors who wouldn't take a payment reschedule and convinced the rest the benefit to risk ratio was on the side of waiting. I've kept chipping away at it. The money I've been making helped me pay off a few at a time. I'm actually paying more than the interest now. A little over twenty million and I'm free and clear, so the four million for you two will be a big shot in the arm."

"If you wouldn't tell them, why tell us?" Cheryl asked.

"Well, first, 'cause you two were stupid enough to get stappled to the floor, so I don't give a damn about your judgment or lack thereof. You want to lecture me I'll just laugh in your face. Second, I needed a lengthy story to give Axe time to sneak up on the eavesdropper we have outside that wall," Mike said, whirling to wave at the indicated wall.

As when he wished to move the chair earlier, the wall peeled out of the way to reveal Axe standing outside illuminated by the very first rays of dawn. He was holding a rake. Draped over the tool was a leather jacket. Mike stared at the jacket in puzzlement.

He turned to find a new figure sitting at the table between Talia and Cheryl. He had a gun casually pointed at Mike's head.

"Don't try me. Unlike these two, I know mages. No matter how fast you are with your magic, I'm faster and I came here knowing you're a mage. Your magic will not deflect these if I shoot you. I don't need to kill you, however, not now that I know what's going on here," the rather plain looking man stated.

"Who in the fuck are you?" Mike asked.

"If you really want to know you're not going to try to kill me and we can talk. That's good because you'll learn some things you need to know. Have the werewolf bring my jacket back in would you? Oh, and close the wall after him. It's letting in a draft."

Mike frowned but waved to Axe to come inside. The wall slid shut after the werewolf. The stranger stood up and put his gun away. He took his jacket back and put it on. He then walked over to Mike's counter and turned on the single cup coffee maker. While it heated he readied a pod and pulled a cup out of Mike's cabinet. He examined it and rewashed it in the sink wiping it off with a cloth he pulled from inside his coat. He then dispensed a cup of coffee and finally turned to the waiting audience of two Dragon Blooded, a mage and a werewolf.

"I am working for the New Orleans Council. Those you call the Seven. I am eliminating the leadership behind the Seventh Son's attack on the city of New Orleans and killing anyone who might be helping those twisted cultists be it materially or with intelligence."

"What does that have to do with us?" Mike asked.

"Nothing, really. But, I thought you should know you won't be getting any money from Pentex. The group they sent here is dead. I killed them," the man said conversationally as if he was talking about the weather.

"What do I have to do to get you to give me the money they had on them?" Mike asked

"Nothing. They had no money. No wallets. No loose change. Only men with guns, explosives and anti magical wards," the man explained.

"Son of a bitch," Mike swore, his hands balling into fists.

Cheryl snorted. "They were never planning to pay you."

"Don't be smug. They were not planning to rescue you either. As soon as the mission was complete they were going to murder you both and lay the blame on these two. You have two failures now and that makes you a liability in Pentex's eyes," the stranger informed them.

"Those rat bastards. Those lying scumbags. They try to put one over on me! How dare they try to kill what I've rightfully been trying to ransom?" Mike ranted.

"It's dizzying the way your mind works," Talia marveled at him.

"I've still got to figure out what the hell I'm going to do with you two," Mike said, scowling.

"Let them go. The story they have to share will hurt Pentex more than anything you could do. No one else is going to pay you for them and with no pay off killing or hurting them would be a cost with no benefit," the stranger said.

"No. I don't think so. You two are going free but you owe me and some day I'm going to call that debt in and you're going to pay it," Mike said darkly.

"Or what? You'll kill us?" Cheryl sneered.

"No. I'll tell everyone how you leapt in here like morons and got stapled to the floor. I'll tell everyone how you begged for mercy and spilled every Pentex secret you could think of like kids at a sleepover just to stop the pain. You're going to pay your god damn debts like everyone else does for the same reason everyone does because if you don't your rep isn't going to be worth SHIT. You'll never work or get respect again and then you can go begging for work from MSI or some other place that will sneer down at you like the losers you are and you'll take it because with no rep and no Pentex you have NOTHING," Mike shouted as the chains fell away and the front door opened.

Both women raised up and limped their way out the doorless doorway.

"I'd go collect all of your belongings from Pentex right now. Treat it like escaping an abuser. Get everything you must have as quickly as you can and write off the rest. Only the shock of your survival will stay their hand while they try to think up a cover story," the stranger advised, calling after them as they disappeared.

Mike turned back to his new guest. "Now what?"

The stranger shrugged. "I go back to work killing the Seventh Sons and Pentex members who support the attack on New Orleans. You do whatever you want to do. I doubt we'll get in each other's way."

"Well, I'm not going to New Orleans. Maybe the Prince of Mobile needs some help," Mike said looking at Axe. The werewolf shrugged.

The Night Caste Jon Cole put his cup in the sink, ran water into it and started out the door. "Kai Silbern finds you contemptible, but I don't get along with him either. If I ever need two loud morons as a distraction, I know your number... but don't hold your breath."


	15. Chapter 15

U.S. Bank Tower

Los Angeles, California

December 22st, 2012

5:58 AM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

The respite had done wonders for the trio of Solars. Campeggio in particular looked more like himself once he had properly washed and changed into one of his most expensive suits. Agam had changed clothes too, including his dastar, exchanging the blue one he normally wore with a black one, now adorned with a chrome Khanda pin. Campeggio noticed the change in head gear and could not help but ask.

"You said, when I asked you before, that you wear a blue turban as a symbol of your commitment to be broad minded. Is there a similar significance to the black one?"

"Some use it as a reminder of British persecution. I doubt that's what he had in mind though, right, Singh?" Marshall interjected.

Agam nodded. "Yes, that is not what I intend. A black turban can also be a symbol of humility. I feel humbled by this experience. We will do what so few have done before. It is quite remarkable."

Campeggio looked over his circle mates. Agam's traditional _bana_ had been with his other clothes. He'd planned to visit the local temple and pass out charity gifts to the less fortunate. He had brought his much more formal and traditional garb to be festive. He was impeccably dressed.

Marshall, much to Campeggio's consternation, had opted for a far more dressed down look. He wore a simple white button up shirt and leather jacket with twill slacks. He did not match his fellows and claimed to lack a nicer set of clothing and nothing Campeggio had on hand would fit him.

Before he could protest again, the looming form of Five Days Darkness emerged, materializing from the shadows deeper in the room. He wasted no time with greetings. "You are all here. Good. You look ready as well."

"I hope it's all adequate," Campeggio said, casting one last glance at Marshall.

"It should be. If not, Parad can help you further. I am not completely sure of the precise situation there. He and I are not close. We're allies of convenience in a war of survival," Five Days Darkness admitted.

"I take it you don't care much for the other gods?" Campeggio surmised.

"I loathe them. I despise them with the scorn only an outcast can muster. They have mocked me and my inability to be near the Unconquered Sun or to live in the light of the other Celestines. My inability to directly petition them or to participate in heavenly politics limits the power I can wield. To some the inability to wield direct power is seen as weakness."

"Obviously this other god, Parad, has trusted you at least somewhat," Marshall said.

"Desperation makes for odd fellowships. Be cautious in heaven and the halls of power. I fear not all is well. Some might seek to oppose your exercise of the ancient rights of the Exalted. Now gather near. I will open the portal."

The Shadow of the Sun made intricate gestures and spoke an ancient incantation. Agam and Marshall recognized the sound of the language as the first tongue crafted by the Primordial beings who forged the universe, a language neither of them had ever heard before they had exalted, yet, due to their intrinsic memories, both knew fluently. It was the same language Agam himself used whenever he invoked the powers of Emerald sorcery. This magic, however, was significantly stronger. This more powerful ritual was of a level beyond that magic. Both Thompson and Sigh twinged with a memory, a single phrase, Sapphire sorcery.

Into reality shimmered a gateway. It was not some mere disk of energy one might imagine when the word portal is spoken, but a gateway of elemental jade laced with precious metals; fiery golden oricalcum, quicksilver-like moonsilver, and the chromatic glazed chrome of star metal.

"Go quickly! I cannot remain here to hold it. The gate does not like to stay in a singular place at this time of year."

"Our thanks to you, Five Days Darkness. I hope we will meet again," Campeggio said as he dashed through the impressive archway with the other two exalts on his heels.

On the other side was a hall made of the same jade and ornamentation leading to another arch. To each side was an enormous lion of gold. A perfect match, the two turned revealing their status as animate beings rather than statuary.

"This place is off limits. The Calibration festival has been canceled this year. You must return the way you came. If you hurry the gate may not have moved. If it has I wish you luck finding a way back home," the Celestial Lion Sentry to the left of the gate told them.

"We are no normal visitors," Campeggio said as he stepped forward and activated his caste mark.

The pair of lions looked at each other for a moment. That alone was the only sign of uncertainty.

"With whom do you have business, oh Exalted?" the right lion asked.

"I am not required by custom or law to divulge that information. Were I you, I would ask myself how much I really want to know. Perhaps it would be better to recall only that this entry was not illegal and thus you can honestly answer to all who ask that no illegal transit occurred on your watch and leave it at that."

"Forgive us, oh prince. We mean no disrespect nor any imposition upon your task," the left lion said.

"Indeed we approve of a return to the days of wise rule over the earth, however, you do not know the paths around the city. Let us expedite your journey by sending you to your connection directly," the other lion proposed.

Campeggio pondered this. "Will you swear an oath to keep our destination a secret?"

The left lion nodded. "I swear I shall never speak of it to any being neither god, man, nor any other entity."

"Nor shall you convey this information in any other fashion do you swear this as well?"

"I do swear," the left lion agreed.

"I swear the same oath knowing it is bound by the will of the Unconquered Sun and will bring dark penalty against any who transgress against it," the right added. As he did so, Campeggio's anima briefly leapt to life sanctifying the oath under the eyes of heaven.

"Very well. We seek the god known as Parad. How can we find him?"

"Ah, Parad. Go to your left when you exit this hall. You will come to a channel of liquid silver. There will be a dock there as well. You will see a ferry boat and its attendant. Ignite your caste mark. Speak to him of your needs and he will see to them. After he does so, thank him and offer to burn incense in his name," the left lion instructed.

"When you return home that is, and please, remember to actually do so," the right lion admonished.

"Thank you. Is there anything we can do for you?"

"As officers of the law we are not permitted gratuities, incense, or other considerations. They would be noticed and called into question as bribes," the right lion explained.

"We would not want to call your honor into question any more than we would want to call our own into question," Agam Sigh said.

The solar circle passed between the two sentries and continued on their journey, quickly coming to the described river of quicksilver where Campeggio, once again, flashed his caste mark. After stating their desired destination, the silent ferryman, a divinity with the head of a great crane, motioned them aboard and took them along with no questions. He guided the boat skillfully as his feathers shimmered like gossamer. It took every ounce of decorum the three Solars had not to gawk. They zipped down the quicksilver colored river at incredible speed.

The amazing scenery of heaven passed them by; every building and edifice was constructed without regard for the expense of the materials on the earthly plane. Rubies, sapphires, emeralds and amber formed windows with stained glass style images within. Gold, silver, platinum and copper were everywhere without a trace of tarnish or verdigris.

Even elemental jade and the magical metals, while not frequent, were far from scarce. Somehow the display came off as grand without being gaudy. It was awe inspiring without being overwhelming. Perhaps this was due to how the extravagant materials were not emphasised in a showy display but simply used as base components. Or, maybe it was due to the supernatural skill of whatever divine hand wrought the structures.

"The offices you seek are there. You will find a directory just inside the door," the crane headed ferryman indicated with a gesture speaking for the first time.

Edmond nodded. "Thank you. We will remember to offer up incense for your service to us," he said, remembering the golden lion's advice. The ferryman gave a nod in acknowledgement before departing without a word.

The building was quiet. It looked as empty as the path and the city beforehand. They came to the indicated door like all the doors here it bore inscription. This was not on a plaque or removable plate. Those who held these offices were immortals. They had served eons and would serve for ages yet to come. There was no imperminance about their station. Both Marshall and Agam could read the inscriptions. On the door in question was 'Parad, the Left Hand of Power: God of Inherited Might.'

The door opened into an ante chamber with a waiting board and a desk for a secretary. Standing in a doorway beyond that desk was a being that looked like some odd amalgam of the Dragon Blooded. He was on the tall side and lean but not to the point of being wiry. His body had a stoney look like Kai Silbern's. Lower, about his torso, within the veins of marble, the stone glowed red and a haze of heat was visible about his person. Along his upper chest and shoulders however, as if warring for dominance with the molten veins were tendrils of vines on which blossomed tiny flowers. His hair looked like a liquid waterfall; not a still image of such, but the subtle motions of his long hair gave the illusion of the water flowing and changing. The presence of the hair seemed to dispel the heat aura and generated an effect above his head. Wreathed above him was a halo of clouds with small flickers of seeing his guests the darkness and lightning faded from his stormy halo and his eyes that were at first a similar stormy blue-grey calmed to a soothing early morning hue.

"At last! Please, come! Sit! I have worked hard to clear your path of any who might spy on you. I hope you were not waylaid by any other gods save the boatman. I take great risks in talking to you like this. There is so much to tell you and so little time," Parad said at once waving them into his office.

"A mixture of the five Dragon Blooded aspects, what else should I have expected?" Agam said, smiling and bowing politely.

Parad seemed to ignore his polite bow. "We gods are shaped by our portfolio more surely than we shape them. Mortals might have a job, but we quite literally are our work. The blindness that it induces was a large reason why the world was placed under Exalted rulership." He then gestured to cushions arranged around a low table. Upon the table were artistically arranged _hors d'oeuvres_ with a crystal tea pot and fine tea bowls.

"Why all the secrecy? What's going on? I thought we were brought here to discuss the god's plans for our return and the defense of our world, not to be inducted into a conspiracy," Campeggio asked, attempting to get to the heart of the matter as the trio took a seat.

"Plans? Yes, well, that cuts to the center of things. So many plans. Too many plans and too little action where once we did the opposite," Parad said as he shook his head in dismay

"I don't understand," Marshall said, confused.

"The grand plan for the defense of the world is a shambles. It was ruined almost from its inception. However, this is not how we should start…"

"I have already had one history lesson today," Campeggio interjected somewhat petulantly, however, Parad held up a hand.

"Please, let me explain."

Campeggio looked to his two compatriots who both nodded. He then looked back to the god with a resigned sigh.

"Now, as I was saying, in the time before we reshaped the world, there was a final age, a last gasp of the original Creation, an epoch known as the Age of Sorrows. And it was indeed a sorrowful time. It was the culmination of over a thousand years of betrayal and backstabbing among the factions of the Exalted, beyond the simple infighting inherent to any human. Lytek, the God of Exaltation itself, investigated the root cause of this behavior as he long suspected something was amiss with the Exalted, although, due to the nature of Heaven, kept that information to himself; again, another failing of the previous age.

"However, he has shared his findings with me and that brings me to the first thing that I absolutely must reveal; it regards your Exaltations themselves." However, before he could finish, Parad appeared to hesitate, as if he was suddenly unsure of his actions.

"Well?" Campeggio prodded.

The god sighed. He then finally, screwed up his courage and spoke again. "All of your Exaltations are cursed. Even the bloodlines of the Dragon Blooded. You are cursed in a very subtle way. The architects of this curse were so clever in how they did their work it is not noticeable unless one knows what to look for; only the slow build up then implosion and ruin of the Age of Sorrows revealed enough about it for Lytek to glean insight into this curse!"

"I am confused. From my own memories, I was under the impression that Exaltations are imperishable. Even the destruction of the universe will not harm them," Agam said, aghast. Thinking of the demon crafter and relics from the never born cultists he'd fought.

"Imperishable, yes. Untarnishable? No. Sadly not. I should have made my meaning more precise. According to Lytek's guess, they used a 'back door,' however the mechanics of exaltation are mysterious. It's doubtful even its inventor knows everything about their workings. His speculation is that if one attempted to directly curse the Exaltations, it would have been an exercise in futility. Exaltation, however, by its very nature, requires a human host. So those Creators of the Universe who, in their agonizing death throes, cursed those who could host the Exaltations. Working their hate into the universe they created for turning on them. They are the ones responsible for this. They are the only ones, other than perhaps the Celestines or the Exalted themselves, to work such power on the universe. A universe they further warped out of balance. You mentioned receiving a 'history lesson.' I assume Five Days Darkness informed you of the paradox of the Sun?" Parad asked.

"That to be perfect at his job he has to be less than perfect at certain tasks because imposing his all encompassing perfection all at once would break reality?" Campeggio asked.

"Yes. That paradox, inscribed into existence itself, was one of the principal reasons for the downfall of its creators; strength in one instance is weakness in another. Virtue is itself vice in certain circumstances."

The three Solars stared at him blankly. Seeing his point was not understood, Parad continued. "To stand firm in the face of any challenge is brave. To give ground to an evil cause via negotiation to avoid standing firm is cowardice. To refuse to negotiate at all is to lead to unneeded suffering and bloodshed. To refuse to admit the grievances of others against you because your strength is greater than theirs is monstrous," Parad explained.

"They cursed the world to have shades of grey?" Campeggio asked, trying to get a handle on what the god was saying.

"No. It had shades of grey already. They cursed the perceptions of the Exalted so the righteous might become unrighteous. With time, and increasingly clouded judgement, the brave warrior becomes the bloodthirsty maniac who seeks to solve all problems with violence. The aesthetic monk comes to judge all who are less giving then he as being completely selfish and self centered. The counselor who gives wise advice comes to think any advice he gives must be wisdom. Etcetera ad infinitum. The Exalted, who were raised to rule humanity rather than the inhuman gods who lacked understanding of the human condition, came to be alien beings with little understanding of the human condition they had slowly transcended," Parad expanded.

"Oh, that is insidious," Marshall remarked.

"This very slow burn caused it to go unnoticed until it was almost too late. We doubt there is a cure, but being aware of it and actively seeking to avoid the trap proved remarkably effective at the end of the Age of Sorrows. We never got long term confirmation but it proved promising."

"So, we should monitor each other and accept criticism?" Campeggio asked.

"I would at least keep an open mind. For the Solar Exalted, the passions that drive you to heroism often drive you to go beyond heroics into villainy. The instincts that do the Lunars credit come to override their human reason and sentiment. The long range view and steady planning of the Sidereal tend to venture off into an unwillingness to deal with the immediate and real before them over the abstract. My charges tend to put family before everything to the point of caring only for their own kind and nothing else. All meritorious things turned too far and made flaws. Virtue, instinct, wisdom, and loyalty all perverted by extremity" Parad said heavily.

"We can only promise to spread the word and be watchful," Agam said.

"Yes, that should be enough. At least for the time being. Now, similar to how other diseases can bloom in the body, the external enemies of Creation came forth in this time of weakness. There is the Wyld; the original foe of Creation. The Wyld is the corrosive force of pure chaos. It is a foe that is infinite in scope. It will never go away. However, at the height of the Exalted's power, it was merely an inconvenience. Then there are the Neverborn, the slain Primordials whom the Exalted overcame. These eternal beings were slain, yet they cannot fully die. They linger in a spiritual darkness, a darkness that was revealed by their passing from life: the Void. The nothingness of the Void is a spiritual counterweight to everything the chaos of the Wyld represents. The Neverborn, eternally stuck in their death throes, despair of their creation and wish it and all things snuffed out. They are omnicidal nihilists without mercy. Last there is the Yozi, the broken defeated Primordials. They were so imprisoned because it was thought that a cage was better than what their dying would do to the universe. They are warped sociopaths to whom the universe is a plaything that was taken from them and if they can't have it back they wish to at least ensure no one else is enjoying it."

"I take it all three are still at work?" Campeggio asked as he sat forward and poured tea for himself and the others. He could see where this whole line of information was going. Indeed he was told at the start. " _The grand plan for the defense of the world is a shambles. It was ruined almost from its inception._ " That is what he was told. This meeting wasn't so much about what they could do and where the help was coming, this meeting was about how and where it all went wrong. Red involuntary rose to his face as his anger about the situation grew. He took a sip of tea to calm himself and let the irritation slide away. At least he was getting information and not working in the dark. He lifted his eyes back to Parad across the desk.

Parad had paused in his delivery from the social faux pa of failing to pour drinks for his guests and politely waited until his guests looked back at him to continue. "Yes, they are very much still at work, but, as with most such news there is more to it. The Neverborn and Yozi despise each other, but in their misery came to an accord: together in an unholy alliance they were able to procure half of the solar exaltations; one hundred and fifty of your number. One hundred were gifted to the Neverborn to become the Abyssal Exalted, the Princes of the Underworld. The remaining fifty were left to the imprisoned Primordials, the Yozi. These Solars were twisted into Infernal Exalted, the Green Sun princes of Hell. The Yozi and the Neverborn tried to cheat the rule of the universe and gain power without sacrifice. This cost them in the long run, for while these corrupted Solars have powers aligned with their masters; two things made this a very poor plan. First, they were still driven by the power of a Solar Exaltation, which is very hard, if not impossible to suppress. Like all Exalts, these tainted Exalts are still driven by the deep passions that reside in you; virtues that their masters sought to cultivate as vices."

"Just as our virtues can degenerate into vices their vices were turned into virtues?" Agam asked.

"In some cases. The second, and perhaps most important fact is that no one can rob the Exalted of free will. In a few cases, it can be willingly surrendered, but there is no way to forcibly take it. Neither the Neverborn nor the Yozi truly gave their Exalted the rulership they expected. They, instead, expected them to be slaves content only with the trapping of authority not true power and dominion. They were turned by an offer of true power as the wardens of their respective former patrons."

"So...these Abyssal and Infernal Exalted are our allies now?" Campeggio asked with some hope.

"They _could_ be. The deals that won them to the side of Creation have long expired. Such alliances would have to be re-brokered. The new Infernals and Abyssals will know nothing of it. They are free. Their former masters have no means to compel their compliance or submission. The controls they once had, weak as they were, have been shattered."

"So the controls over the Abyssals and Infernals were shattered. They were rallied to our side and the enemies of Creation were tossed back so Creation could be wrapped into a protective shell to heal like a grain of sand in the middle of a pearl. What happened after that? I take it that the stronger gods are not here in this Heaven?" Marshall asked.

"No. When the world was folded away, Yu-Shan, the Celestial City was outside the shield. From outside, you can barely see it through the sky dome. We are tethered to it in a way. When unity returns the two heavens will be the first to reunite. At least we hope. Yu-Shan was stocked with useful items and was preparing for war. I hope their preparations went better than our own."

"What happened? We need to know," Campeggio said forcefully steeling himself for the certain disappointment that would follow.

"Complacency, arrogance, and stupidity. The hallmarks of any disaster," Parad began and Campeggio couldn't help but crack a wry smile. At least he was being honest. "However," the god continued, "I shall be more precise. Tools were left for our use and a favored being, some say he is the literal son of the Unconquered Sun, who in his youth was called Little Beam, was placed in charge of us here. An avatar of Gaia, the Emerald Mother, is within as well as she is linked to Creation in a way that cannot be broken. Also with us is a small facet of Luna who has a talent for being in more than one place in defiance of space and time. They cannot function for long so divorced from their greater selves, so, after our initial work was complete, they spent a great deal of time resting. Among the high gods, I was one of the only ones who was assigned here. Lytek, the God of the process of Exaltation, was kept back to see what he could do to mitigate the curse's effect on the Exaltations while they roamed free. I was chosen to remain in the event the Dragon Blooded could be restored and to use my powers to help guide any new beings of inherited might.

"The powerful tools the Primordials created to allow the gods to reshape the world and perform maintenance on reality were used to do what repairs we could and to shape into existence many wonders. In collaboration with the aforementioned aspect of Luna, we created new breeds of guardians who could serve as stewards of the world in the physical plane and lieutenants of the Celestial Exalted when they returned in hopes that they might suffice if the Dragon Blooded could not be restored. These were the Fera, the various breeds of shapechangers. We made places of plenty for the few survivors of the war to replenish; Paradise Gardens of which Eden was one. The human survivors of Creation had their memories wiped, as most were traumatised and the New Sun created a host of spirits to be his personal messengers. The humans were treated with the utmost care.

"However, not all agreed with this. We were warned pampering humans as we did was a mistake by one outside our chain of command. A being named Lillun, who was once human, but had been reshaped into something...else. She is...difficult to accurately categorize, but she is as powerful as some of the strongest of us on this side of the barrier. She told us tending to every mortal need would bring numbers but weakness and rather than labor to expand the gardens and embrace the world, they would cling to them and the life of ease.

"She was right and the error was over corrected. We tossed humanity out into the wilderness. In desperation they sought to find the reason for our presumed wrath and indifference to their suffering. During this time of humanity's confusion the first murder of the new age happened and the New Sun completely lost all decorum thinking to nip these dark implused before they flowered into an age of violence or ripened into the fruit of war. He turned to the implements of shaping and used them to curse the first murderer as an abject lesson to all mankind such as would never be forgotten."

"Caine? The first vampire?" Agam wondered.

"Sounds like using high explosives to kill a cockroach," Marshall added.

"Right on both accounts. Lillun took mercy on him and trained him in how to pervert aspects of his curse into beneficial powers he could use to thrive. He did so and founded cities where he and his vampires sheltered man and they flourished out of proportion to the restoration work. This enraged the Fera who sought to cull their numbers to a symbiotic rather than parasitic level."

"The vampires or the humans?" Campeggio asked darkly, remembering his late night reading sessions of materials he received from the New Orleans cabal.

"Both, I believe. Somewhere in all this Caine, in a fued with Lillun, turned on his former mentor and destroyed her Savage Garden where she bred beings that were not entirely human. This led to her somehow stealing access to the Tools of Creation and using the scraps of an old and pervasive Solar magic that reshaped the universe called the Salinian Workings to create an imitation of Exaltation called an 'Avatar.' This was the genesis of the Mages. From there things spiraled further and further out of control. Demons that were bound into Creation to fulfill unsavory but necessary tasks flexed their bounds to the limit to further meddle and worsen the anarchy. Things were near the point of insolvency when the Elemental Dragon of Water, Daana'd, awoke and flooded the world with her power and restored some semblance of balance. Afterward she reimplemented the ban on Gods directly interfering in the mortal realm, stating we had proven the exemption we were granted was ill advised."

"Wait, I don't understand. Where does that leave the plan?" Campeggio asked.

"Broken. Shattered beyond hope of recovery. The Fera are divided. The Mages are quarrelsome, and truthfully were never meant to exist. New Sun's angelic host has been destroyed or rebelled. The most prolific supernatural being is a parasite created by accident. Our most recent attempt to help was when we broke open the Fires of Exigence and, using a method we devised, empowered new Chosen to try and restore the balance. You call them Hunters. Nothing has worked. The plan is a complete shambles and rather than facing the facts New Sun...Little Beam...is hiding from responsibility. We should have opened the armories and awakened the sleeping instructors the moment the Dragon's Blood reawakened. However, I am accused of being partial to them. I was told to wait until the Celestials returned. It wouldn't be proper to give the Terrestrials an advantage over them. Now that you are back, there are new excuses. They are scared of your retribution. They are terrified of what the Incarna will do when they return."

"So you called us up here to tell us we're screwed unless we find our own path?" Campeggio spat, his previous anger rising anew in his voice as he brought his hand done to the table with a thud. All that reading material from New Orleans, all the ways in which those sects were broken and not working… those were the pieces of a grand plan. The smoke he first felt while reading the documents was blown away by a gust of wind this information gave and before him lay the plan in full and what he previously could not see. It was a blast zone. A bomb created and detonated by short-sighted puppeteers that didn't have a clue what to do or how humanity worked.

The god before him pled his case. "I called you here so you wouldn't waste your time as the Sidereal have, waiting for a cue from Heaven. To compound matters, there is a system where Sidereal can be given direct missions from the heads of Fate to repair destiny, but the tapestry is so warped no one over it wants to risk giving an order that makes things worse. So, no one is giving orders to the Exalted who most need coordination with Heaven; no data or instructions are flowing and the backlog I can only imagine is enormous. It is a dysfunctional mess of the highest caliber. If there is any salvation this world is going to see it lays in your hands. The Solar Exalted are the First among the Exalted. Your kind alone can rally the others to unity. I am forced to sneak around to make sure you have the barest clue as to what is happening, lest I find myself locked away in a private hell for doing so."

"Start by telling us what was stored for our training and armament. To make a plan I have to know what we have to work with," Campeggio said darkly.

"You'll find what we have and what you can obtain are far different. The path here is almost certain to be cut off after this Calibration is over."

"Just give me the list! We'll know better than you what we can use and what we most need. We have to knuckle down and start fixing this mess," Campeggio snarled.

* * *

Sweet Rest Inn

Inglewood, California

December 22st, 2012

6:25 PM Pacific Standard Time

* * *

Brad stood in a space that wasn't real, an illusion created by the minds of those who chose to believe they existed there. This construct was made to allow communication. He was speaking to the leaders of the Council of Nine Traditions and the representative for the Hollow Ones, the non-tradition of mages who forged their own path. All of them were frowning deeply.

"So, that's the situation as we know it. The ghost of the second vampire ever created fathered the girl. He has also fathered two other daughters who are not mages. The Tremere are trying to worm their way into the good graces of the Solar Exalted as well as get in on the ground floor with whoever learns to tap the power of death magic."

The Councillor for the Order of Hermes shook his head. "Over our dead bodies."

"Well it very nearly was my dead body. You know, hence my appearance," Brad snapped back.

"I am amazed that three operatives that were so promising have performed so poorly," The head of the Virtual Adepts replied.

"The absolute insistence that we could not deviate from the plan sort of tied our hands!" Brad said angrily, barely containing his fury.

"We never gave such a directive," the Etherialite representative explained.

"What?"

"Those instructions did not come from the council. We gave you no plan. We _did_ state that communication should be kept rare, however, we gave a wide latitude for judgment calls to be made by agents in the field. Forming a plan eight years out would have been beyond premature. While your own tradition is more ordered than the rest of us, we have never centralized leadership. For us to take such control of a project would have only drawn attention to it. Jesse informed us of the basics of your plan and that for simplicity's sake he would be the sole point of contact with the council. He said that all decisions regarding the girl would be handled locally and then he would communicate with the council when needed. This would make our contacts seldom and brief just as we desired," the elder shaman of the Dream Speakers informed him.

"OUR plan?! Jesse said it was YOUR plan! Do you mean to tell me he made the entire thing up and cut Greg and me out of the decision making loop?"

The Hollow One advisor laughed uproariously.

The Virtual Adept frowned. "This is hardly funny."

"You're right. It's hilarious. He wound them up like tin soldiers and set them to march. You bet your ass he was going to take all the credit if this plan had gone off well and planned to leave them holding the bag if it failed," the Hollow One said, still chuckling.

"Well, I think we can all agree that this has backfired on him. This sort of incompetence requires action. Jesse took it on himself to make a plan and now the results are on him too," the Adept of Hermes said.

"True. I think Brad's situation is punishment enough. You are going to have to find your own way to deal with that aneurysm you people put into that clone body. Don't look to us for help with that. When Jesse is found, he will be taken in for gross incompetence. He will be tried and, unless he has some unimaginably good reason for his actions, he will be executed," the Virtual Adept added.

"Wonderful. But, what about the girl? She's still here too close to danger and while I've been working her through some basic lessons, her family isn't exactly wild about me. She needs another teacher. Who can you send? Where can we move the girl?"

"For now, nowhere," the Euthanatos Council member said.

"What?" Brad exclaimed in shock.

"We can't be sure any place is safe for the time being. There are too many hot spots. The situation with the dead in Paris makes your problems in L.A. look tame. The Holy Land is awash in holy power, it's one of the only places that such powers work reliably. It's lit up like a Christmas tree. Adherents of multiple religions have managed to call up holy light to wield against the dead that have arisen there and most are working together. However, even with this display of interfaith unity, there are hardliners from every faith who urge those who have manifested holy power to use it against those who are not 'true believers,' The Celestial Chorister explained.

"At least you know what you face out in L.A. We were hoping the Technocracy would offer another truce but they've been incommunicado for the most part. Much of their efforts seem to be in remote locations. All they've truly done is forward us a list of areas they are working to defend. They've asked us to send them a similar list so we can stay out of each other's way," the Euthanaotos said.

"If she's captured, it will be an apocalyptic scenario," Brad said firmly.

"That's why we're contacting what reinforcements we can. You have several Solar Exalted, a squad of trained Dragon Blooded, and a gaggle of Hunters running around Los Angeles. That's better than most places. Make do and keep her safe at the cost of your own life," the Virtual Adept ordered.

"If overwhelmed, before severing your own life, ensure the child is destroyed and that she is unrecoverable. She must be beyond even necromancy to recover," the Euthanaotos added.

"That's your suggestions?!" Brad asked with a sneer.

"No, Adept those are our ORDERS! Now see to them like the obedient little wind up toy you've been for the last eight years. Blind obedience got you into this, let's see if it gets you out," the Hollow One said mockingly as the virtual space dissolved.

"Fuck!"

"Forgot to save before you died?" Willow asked.

Brad unplugged his goggles from his tablet and changed its mode before he nodded to his 'twin'. "Uh...yeah. I made a stupid mistake and now I have to pay for it."

Willow was laying on the bed with her eyes nearly closed. They were stuck in the hotel room Banyan had given them. Only one of them could leave at a time. This allowed them to maintain the fiction that Brad was Willow to the mundanes and avoid Paradox.

She had complained she was too tired to focus after their last training session so he told her to rest while he covered his meeting with the world's leading mages by telling her he was going to play a video game. Not knowing what else to do, given the dismal news, he decided to resume the lessons.

"Okay, Willow, I think you can try again. Just remember this isn't about rote memorization. Training your magic is like building muscle memory. You learn by doing. Extend your senses into the Sphere of Correspondence. Feel how everything relates. How every movement changes distance. Learn to see past objects to see relationships. Every push strengthens a pull towards something else. Every pull seeks to counter every other. Objects on this level of reality do not exist, they are only points fixed into relationships with each other," Brad said in the tone of the college lecturers he was so used to tuning out.

"I see it. I see it again!" Willow said with her eyes still closed. A slight smile crossed her face.

"I'd rather you feel it, but we'll work with that. Hold on to it and try to push away from yourself. Feel a connection and follow it. Find your brother. That would be a good test."

Willow opened her eyes and looked at him. It still unnerved her slightly to be looking at herself. "Um. What if he's w _ith_ Sayuri? We are in a hotel you know," she asked with a nervous lilt in her voice, indicating her brother's voracious sexual appetite. It had been obvious even to her that he and Sayuri had become lovers during her absence, just from the way they acted around each other.

"Yeah, even if they're not having sex they're sort of sickeningly sweet. I can see how you'd not want to avoid that. Find your mom instead. I know where she is," Brad amended.

"Too late. I found Kashi. Oh God! They're feeding each other dinner! I didn't mean to see but..." Willow said. She could see clearly, in her mind's eye, Kashi and Sayuri sitting under the wooden canopy that made up the hotel's restaurant area. There were five plates stacked up on Kashi's side of the table to Sayuri's one. Even in the midst of a crisis, all of Kashi's appetites were voracious, not just his desire for sex. Her vision broke as the pair leaned across the narrow table to embrace.

"Yeah, like I said, sickeningly sweet. You got lucky. That should teach you not to let your mind wander. Just pull back here and find your mother. Focus on her connection to you. Everything that exists has interacted with something, which by some degree of separation, has interacted with you," Brad explained.

"So were all affected by Kevin Bacon?" Willow asked.

"And we all affect him. Every point is a billiard ball being moved by other points while moving those it touches in return, imparting momentum or stealing momentum. The only fixed point is your own perspective."

"No... there is another fixed point," Willow's voice quavered.

"Granted, but let's not involve your other sphere. You're technically correct, but for the purpose of this lesson, let's ignore the Void and focus on one sphere at a time," Brad added hastily.

"Right, ignore the elephant. It's just a giant gaping hole in existence. Easy to put out of mind."

"Don't get snarky or I'll end this lesson. I notice you still haven't found your mother."

"I see her! Wait, I can hear her too! I couldn't hear before!" Willow said jubilantly.

Banyan was with the Hunters. She was making lists, tracking what was taken from James' extensive armory and by who. She also was casually talking about weapons and combat with some of the Hunters standing near.

A custom wheelchair came rolling up as Juanita, one of the hunters who survived a disastrous attack on San Diego in 2004, made her way to the front. "I don't think I need any more gear. I brought my custom stuff. I do better as a static defender so where's a good place for that? Does the roof have wheelchair access? If not I'll need to scout it out. I can get around pretty well without the chair but might need a hand setting up a sniper overlook."

A one armed hunter named Kevin looked at her sadly. "Juanita there's been news, it's about Jesus."

"I can guess. His finicky ass isn't coming?"

"Yes, but not why you think. He's dead, Juanita," Kevin said softly.

"What?! Kevin...how? Dead? How is he dead?" Juanita asked, her face a whirlwind of conflicting emotions.

"From what we can piece together he stopped to burn some zombies and picked a fight with vampires that were already on scene. He turned his flamethrower on them and one got a lucky hit on his fuel tank. It ruptured, burning him badly, too badly to fight off some of the surviving zombies. They beat him and the last of the vampires to death. LAPD found him and called his family. His uncle Rod called us," Kevin explained.

"Oh shit. Oh no," Juanita shook her head.

"I know you were close but not..."

Banyan raised an eyebrow at the odd statement.

"A decade ago they were heading for the altar. Some differences of opinion broke them up hard core. They haven't had a positive thing to say about each other since," Kevin said.

"That sounds like me and Jin. He's likely out there with his gang, fighting this. I don't know how I'd feel if I got the call he was dead," Banyan said, quietly thinking about her own situation and how it compared.

"Empty. I feel...empty, like there was this big balloon of confusion in me and now the air has been let out and there's just nothing," Juanita answered.

"Do you need some time?" Banyan asked.

"No. No, there's work to be done. Saving lives doesn't wait or take a back seat for grief. Fight now, feel later. I thought his prejudice was going to get him killed someday. I guess I was right," Juanita said with a shake of her head.

"I always thought Tex was going to kill him one day," Kevin admitted.

Before Juanita could respond, a hunter that Willow thought was named Jean came running up from one of the makeshift watch posts. "Hey! Guys! Something's coming!"

"What? A car?" Kevin asked.

"You really need to be a little more specific; 'something' encompasses a bit too much to be useful," Banyan groused.

"It's a goddamn Super Puma full of troops!" A hunter everyone called RayRay shouted.

Curious, Willow attempted to shift her vision and see the craft. It was a large helicopter. It was indeed vaguely military looking. It likely wasn't a truly military model as it had the MSI Logo emblazoned on the side; something the hunters might not be able to see from their vantage point, as they could only see it from the front.

Willow's eyes snapped open. "Brad! The Manifested...the Dragon Blooded are here! The hunters see their helicopter but don't know it's them yet. One of us better go tell them before they do something stupid like shoot at it."

"Stay here. I'll go see what's going on," Brad ordered as he rushed out the door.

Brad was able to project the most likely place the helicopter would land. He ran by the restaurant and waved at Kashi, who was still embracing Sayuri. "The Dragon Blooded are coming. Come on dude, we might need you!" He didn't stop to see if the teenager was following. He just continued past into the kitchens and through the back door into the destroyed back lot.

Out back, the helicopter had descended. Although the engines had been cut and the blades of the huge vehicle emitted a high-pitched whine as the rotor brakes were applied, the still spinning blades kicked up smaller bits of debris from the previous fights in all directions. The door of the helicopter emblazoned with the MSI logo was open with Kai Silbern's enormous form clearly visible. Two of the ladies had already exited the vehicle and had their weapons on hand held them in a casual fashion just outside the door of the helicopter.

The giant Earth Aspect had also exited the vehicle and moved forward while looking down at a thickly reinforced tablet that, despite its reinforcement, still looked almost absurdly small in his huge hands. The giant was armed for battle. He was wearing tactical style armor reinforced with elemental Jade mesh underneath. Strapped to the armor on his chest were various pouches. He had a holster on his leg, which was also armored, where he carried a pistol, but unlike most of the other Dragon Blooded women who began exiting the vehicle, Kai also sported a very obvious melee weapon; his ubiquitous over-sized war hammer, also made of elemental Jade, which he held in his other hand. Banyan and a straggling group of hunters arrived to meet them a safe distance away from the flying dust and debris.

Kai addressed them bluntly with no preamble. "You know who I am and I know who and what you all are. Officially we are here to get some rest. Now that the National Guard has taken over most of the defense of this city, we will rest and then find ways to go on the offensive," he bellowed over the sounds of the dying aircraft.

"What about unofficially?" Kevin asked suspiciously.

Kai turned and handed his tablet to one of his fellow Dragon Blooded that had walked up next to him and spoke a few commands to her in German as the blades behind them continued to slow until they no longer produced the high pitched whine or gusts of wind. It took only a moment before he turned to Kevin. "I know you are hunters. I know you wish to preserve your privacy and are hesitant to lose the anonymity that has protected you. You fear the public for you know their opinion is fickle and could be turned against you, and to fight the innocent would be an abhorrent thing. And while you are all brave, I fear that soon you will need another sort of courage, one different from the bravery that it takes to stand against the horrors that plague mankind. It is a different and difficult thing altogether to stand in the light and show the world what you truly are. It would honor me if you followed the same path that we Dragon Blooded have tread so that you could stand beside us in the open in defense of humanity.

The hunter named RayRay started walking toward the giant Dragon Blooded with face flush and a sharp retort on his tongue, but before he could speak Kai raised a hand to stop him before continuing.

"I also know the middle of a crisis is not the time to discuss such matters. However, there is something that I do wish to discuss with you. Our lawyer, Edmond Campeggio, has found a loophole to allow you to join the defense of the city without directly revealing yourselves. When the Orpheus affair came to light, it was realized that intangible beings could commit crimes and the authorities would be none the wiser. The police lacked the training to recognize and deal with this while the Projector firms lacked training in law enforcement protocol. The powers that be realized that if a spirit could commit a crime, then it could commit an act of war or terror as well. This graduated the matter from a law enforcement problem, to an issue of national security.

"The Murphy-Blake law is a little remembered addendum to the Psychic and Paranatural Powers Act. It allows civilians with skills deemed critical to combating the supernatural to be deputized as agents of the law or military in times of crisis. The President has declared the current crisis a state of emergency. The Governor, as of an hour ago, has approved the invokement of this act _en masse_ to anyone who can help in this time of crisis. There is an oath and badges. You will wear the badges. If you quote that old movie about not needing them in a bad hispanic accent at Angelique as she swears you in, she has informed me she will shoot you in the leg. I have agreed to these terms," Kai said, waving and the shortest and thinnest of the women with him.

"What if we aren't the sort for joining?" RayRay asked.

"Then go sulk in a corner while we save lives!" Juanita shouted at him as she wheeled herself in front of Angelique.

Kai only snorted and walked over to the van of weapons. "You are Banyan Kimura. You are the one that the Hunter, James, put in charge of his weapons?"

Banyan frowned. She suspected that Kai likely knew about Kashi and definitely knew about Willow from Bree. What she was unsure of was how much he knew about her or her father. That uncertainty put her on edge. She had a new appreciation for Kashi's plight, juggling his own secrets and trying to judge how much others knew and didn't know about him.

It was then that Kashi came jogging up from behind his mother. He impulsively pushed his way in front of her in a protective manner. "Hey! Hold on there buddy! Don't you bark questions at my mom! Why don't you talk to me?!"

"I am not your 'buddy,' Kashi Kimura. I do not know you well enough to call you a friend. I do, however, appreciate the aid you sent me in the form of the Defenders of Bark and Leaf. They are brave little things, those Stick Knights, they have been a great help to the city. Even if keeping them from fighting with the Fire Elementals who also support us has been a trial."

"Oh...umm...those guys. Yeah," Kashi said, stopping to raise his right arm and put his hand behind his neck as a look of nervous uncertainty crossed his face. He did not think, in his haste to defend his mother, that Kai would recognize him.

"I also know you are a Solar Exalted; a Dawn Caste like Daniel. "

To one side Reiko, who had come up behind Kai, jumped. There was panic in her eyes as she looked at Kashi. Kashi waved at her as if to reassure her he knew she had not betrayed his secrets. "Goddamn blabbermouth Bree and her yapping," he said in a half whisper under a furrowed brow.

"Do not blame Bree Madigan. While I did not know your name, I first heard of the existence of a Dawn Caste Solar that was native to Los Angeles from a peculiar little man named Jay Odele. He said there was a Dawn Caste in Los Angeles who was integral to a particularly strange convergence of fate that he could not unravel. Apparently, he could not decipher the importance of your younger sibling due to the influence of the underworld on her. At least that was the explanation the Tremere gave for it. As for Bree Madigan, she only mentioned you after the vampires of Los Angeles revealed you and your secret indirectly. Ms. Madigan mediated between us and the vampires who were useful but hardly had anyone but their own interests at heart," Kai informed Kashi and his mother.

"That's why my daughter's not with them. She might be in more danger here than warded in their safehouse, but neither my son nor I trust them," Banyan said.

"As a father I know I cannot ask you to place your child in the bear trap for the good of the city, nor do I trust the parasites fully. It is true that enlightened self interest often makes us allies, however, sometimes an untrustworthy ally can be more draining to deal with than an honest foe. I need to know what you are doing to protect this child," Kai asked, tilting his head toward Brad.

"Oh. That's not Willow. That's Brad," Kashi said as if that explained everything.

"He's a decoy. He is a mage who was nearly killed. Now his spirit inhabits a clone of my daughter's body," Banyan clarified. Saying it out loud made her realize how absurd the situation was.

Kai blinked in surprise. "Well that is not a terrible first line of defense. Dan is using his strategic genius to plan the city's defense while I deal with more tactical issues. He will need to know every resource devoted to her defense. It will help him plan."

"Planning wins wars," Banyan said in a voice oddly indicative of rote memorization while eyeing Kashi. She loved her son very much, but she knew he was not a planner.

Kashi exhaled sharply through his nose. He already was very well aware of how much smarter and strategically minded Dan was than himself. It was something of a touchy subject. "Yeah, yeah. Well, I guess I'm not a very good Dawn Caste then, am I? I'm not sure how much help I am in winning anything. I can fight people but what does that do other than hold the ground immediately around me? What good is one guy who can hold the line when he can only be in one place?"

"That depends, Kashi Kimura. What if that one place is like this one; a critical objective that could mean total failure if it is captured? Then that one warrior becomes invaluable. Why did you fight in Brentwood? I saw your anima clearly. Was it to win a strategic goal? To block an enemy's tactical advantage?" Kai asked.

"No. I just...I mean..I didn't have a plan or goal or anything. Besides, that really didn't do much," Kashi said rather sheepishly.

"Did it not? I would wonder what these hunters would say about you and your abilities as you faced vampires alongside them in Ladera Heights?" Kai asked.

"Well that just sort of happened. I didn't plan on it, I just saw what was happening and had to do something. I got lucky and won. I could just as easily have done the wrong thing," Kashi objected.

Kai snorted. "You must learn to be aware of yourself. You are young and not used to introspection. Every time you have engaged in battle it has been for the same reason. It is the reason I suspect you were given your powers. They all have a common thread running through them: Kashi Kimura, you acted to defend others. You are a protector. You are one who cannot stand by while others suffer. You will strive as hard as you need to in order to protect those who cannot defend themselves. Here you are stationed in front of the very thing all these monsters want; your sister. You are her last line of defense. You were not chosen for the same spot in war Dan was selected for. You were chosen to defend the world. You are a bulwark that inspires others to stand firm. Do not doubt your purpose."

Kashi was stunned. He was not expecting such praise. "Well...I, umm...thanks! I guess."

"Do not thank me, repay my praise by being worthy of it. Protect the girl and in doing so protect everything in the world from destruction. Including my wife, daughter, lovers, and other children. You already show promise by understanding what you are not. Now fulfil your destiny by being what you now know you are."

"Well I'm sure you and yours will want some hot showers and you were looking for beds. We have plenty of those," Banyan said as she passed her clipboard to Kevin. "Although maybe not in your size."

Kai nodded and followed Banyan off into the hotel.

Kashi stared off into space as the others went back into the hotel. As Kai said, he was not normally one for introspection and his silence spoke volumes.

"What is it?" Brad asked.

"I don't know. Something about what he said feels right, some stuff doesn't. Every other Exalt like me seems to have gotten such clear visions and a sense of who they're supposed to be. Nothing in my memories, what few I got, helped me with that."

Brad pondered this question. "I'm not sure, but maybe I can figure out a way to help you."


End file.
